A presidential reference?

• President Droupadi Murmu has referenced the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution on certain law questions.

• The advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 143 is a relic of the Government of India Act, 1935.

• The President may refer any question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its opinion.

• The President makes such a reference based on the advice of the Union council of ministers.

• The Supreme Court may provide its opinion after such hearing as it thinks fit.

• The opinion is legally not binding on the President and does not hold a precedential value for the courts to follow in subsequent cases.

• The Supreme Court has declined to provide its opinion for only one reference in 1993 with respect to the Ram Janmabhoomi case.

• The current reference is a result of a recent Supreme Court judgment that specified timelines for Governors and the President to act on Bills passed by State legislatures.

• The government has raised questions surrounding the interpretation of Articles 200 and 201, the authority of the courts to prescribe timelines when they are not specified in the Constitution, and the extent of powers that can be exercised by the Supreme Court under Article 142.