The Supreme Court (SC) will hear the presidential reference filed to seek interpretation of Article 63-A of the constitution today. The hearing will resume at 1:00 pm today.
A five-member larger bench of the SC, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial will the case. Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Mazhar Alam, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel are also on the bench.
Following the revolt of PTI MNAs ahead of the no-confidence motion, the former government sought the opinion of the SC on the questions of law of public importance regarding Article 63(A) of the Constitution relating to the defection of parliamentarians.
In this regard, President Dr. Arif Alvi, in exercise of powers conferred on him under Article 186 of the Constitution of Pakistan, filed a Presidential Reference for the interpretation of Article 63(A) of the Constitution.
Read more: President Alvi okays reference for interpretation of Article 63 (A)
Additionally, the SC will also hear a petition filed by former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who seeks a lifetime ban on a party’s “turncoats” from holding public office.
PTI demands lifetime ban of dissident MNAs
PTI Chairman Imran Khan Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking a lifetime ban on the defecting lawmakers from contesting elections. Babar Awan submitted the petition requesting the formation of a full-court to ‘hear and decide this intricate question of interpretation of Article 63-A of the Constitution’.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday approached the Supreme Court (SC) seeking lifetime disqualification of its dissident Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) under Article 184(3) of the Constitution.#ImranKhan pic.twitter.com/ErrXZbT2WT
— AZaDaR E HUSSAINI a.s (@aZaDaReHUSSAINI) April 14, 2022
Moreover, the petition argued that defection, also commonly called floor-crossing, was against Article 63-A of the Constitution.
Ahead of the no-confidence motion, around 14 PTI MNAs went against then Prime Minister Imran Khan and joined the Opposition. The move caused PTI to take strict action against the dissident MNAs. The party also issued show-cause notices to them.
To clarify, the show-cause notice demanded MNAs to submit an unconditional apology and rejoin the party ranks. Failing to do so resulted in legal action against them. Furthermore, PTI also gave the MNAs the option of resigning if they wished to formally join the Opposition.
However, owing to the lack of positive response from the MNAs, PTI is seeking lifetime disqualification of its dissident MNAs.
Read more: Maryam Nawaz slams PM Khan for serving show-cause notice to PTI MNAs