Under which Article of the Indian Constitution did the President make a reference to the Supreme Court to seek the Court’s opinion on the Constitutional validity of the Election Commission’s decision on deferring the Gujarat Assembly elections (in the year 2002)?

The President seeks the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion under Article 143 of the Constitution. Article 143 vests advisory jurisdiction in the Supreme Court, permitting the President to refer matters of public importance or points of constitutional interpretation for the Court’s opinion [1]. Official presidential references to the Supreme Court explicitly invoke clause (1) of Article 143 when posing questions for consideration, as seen in formal references where the President states the exercise of powers under Article 143 in framing the questions to the Court [2]. The 2002 reference concerning the Election Commission’s decision to defer the Gujarat Assembly elections similarly falls within this advisory/reference procedure under Article 143 [3].

Sources

1. [1] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: JUDICIARY > Advisory Jurisdiction > p. 133
2. [2] https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2025/39157/39157_2025_1_1501_66169_Judgement_20-Nov-2025.pdf
3. [3] https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30246686.ece