Which of the following statements regarding the advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court are correct ? I. It is binding on the Supreme Court to give its opinion on any matter referred to it by the President. II. The full bench of the Supreme Court hears any reference made to it under its power of advisory jurisdiction. III. The opinion given by the Supreme Court on a reference under advisory jurisdiction is not binding on the government. IV. Not more than one reference at a time can be made to the Supreme Court under its power of advisory jurisdiction. Select the answer from the codes given below: Codes :

Two statements are correct. First, references under Article 143 must be heard by a Bench of not fewer than five Judges (often described as a ‘full’ Bench for such References), so statement II is correct [1]. Second, the opinion the Supreme Court gives under its advisory jurisdiction is only advisory; the Court may decline to answer a Reference and, where it does give an opinion, the President/Government is not bound to accept or follow it, so statement III is correct [3]. Statement I is incorrect because the Court is not obliged to give an opinion in every Reference, and statement IV is incorrect because there is no constitutional provision limiting the President to one Reference at a time.

Sources

1. [1] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/can-the-supreme-courts-opinion-on-a-presidential-reference-alter-its-prior-ruling/article69837501.ece
2. [2] Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: JUDICIARY > Advisory Jurisdiction > p. 133
3. [3] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 26: Supreme Court > El l Advisory Jurisdiction > p. 292