It has been famously said that no case is ever finally decided until it is rightly decided. The Supreme Court’s opinion in the latest Presidential Reference falls in that category. It has turned the Constitution on its head. When references under Article 143 are made, Constitution Benches are set up to illumine and resolve a constitutional issue, harmonize conflicting views and settle the law. But doubts should not be contrived and the legal landscape left dismal and cloudy. The effect of the present reference and the opinion is just that.

The opinion bristles with faulty propositions that would cut into the vitals of our constitutional democracy. Amongst the many flaws, however, two take the crown. The first is that the Governor is not necessarily to act on the aid and advice of the mini

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