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20. But it is equally well settled that it is as much the plain duty of the Constitutional Courts to declare the provisions of a Statute to be unconstitutional if those provisions are found to be violative of Articles of the Constitution as it is their to uphold validity in case if they are found to suffer from no such infirmity.

Subsidiary Submissions;

Whether a legislation can be struck down on the ground of it being violative of preamble to the Constitution?

21. We are constrained to address ourselves to these basic and well known rules for the reason that Sri M.V.Durga Prasad, learned Counsel for the petitioners, in W.P.No. 22463 of 2003, made an attempt to contend that the very policy of the Government to privatise the sugar factories in the State is against the spirit of the Constitution. The learned Counsel relies upon the Preamble to the Constitution in support of his contention that socialism is a part of basic structure of the Constitution of India. Privatisation is an anti democratic and runs counter to the proclaimed faith in socialism. An argument is sought to be built on the basis of certain observations made by the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney v. Union of India, 1992 Supp. (3) SCC 217, that a legislation can be struck down on the ground of infringement of Preamble to the Constitution. In the said decision, Pandian, J., framed the question in the following manner that had fallen for consideration:

22. The learned Judge while explaining the interplay between Part III dealing with "Fundamental Rights" and Part IV dealing with "Directive Principles of State Policy" observed that they represent the core of the Indian Constitutional philosophy and envisage the methodology for removal of historic injustice and inequalities and ultimately for achieving an egalitarian society in terms of the basic structure of our Constitution as spelt out by the Preamble. It is further observed that the very blood and soul of our Constitutional scheme are to achieve the objectives of our Constitution as contained in the Preamble "which is part of our Constitution as declared by this Court in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerata, . So it is incumbent to lift the veil and see the notable aspirations of the Constitution."

25. Jeevan Reddy, J., in S.R. Bommai v. Union of India, , while making an analysis of Article 356 of the Constitution of India construed the words "provisions of this Constitution" mean what they say. The said words cannot be limited or confined to a particular chapter in the Constitution or to a particular set of Articles...... The provisions of the Constitution include the chapter relating to fundamental rights, the chapter relating to directive principles of the State policy as also the preamble to the Constitution. Though, at one time, it was thought that preamble does not form part of the Constitution, that view is no longer existent. It has been laid by the majority of Judges in Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, , that preamble does form part of the Constitution. It cannot be otherwise.

28. In Excel Wear v. Union of India, , the Supreme Court after referring to its earlier decision in Akadasi Padhan v. State of Orissa, , observed: "the difference pointed out between the doctrinaire approach to the problem of socialism and the pragmatic one is very apt and may enable the Courts to lean more and more in favour of nationalization and State ownership of an industry after the addition of the word 'Socialist' in the Preamble of the Constitution."

29. Suffice it to say that in none of the cases referred to hereinabove any law as such was struck down by the Supreme Court on the ground of infringement of concepts enshrined in the Preamble. Each of those concepts find their place in the Constitution, we may find concept of Socialism incorporated in the Directive Principles, of State Policy. The concept of Equality is enshrined in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. Likewise the values of Secularism in Articles 25 to 30 forming part of guaranteed fundamental rights. The legislation can be struck down in case if it infringes the guaranteed fundamental rights which may find their echo in the Preamble to the Constitution. But the legislation cannot be struck down on the ground that it infringes the Preamble to the Constitution. The concepts enshrined in the Preamble are to be identified in the guaranteed fundamental rights and if it is found that the provisions of the legislation contravene the guaranteed fundamental rights they could be struck down as unconstitutional.