In the reference, President Dr Arif Alvi asked the apex court whether a member who "engages in constitutionally prohibited and morally reprehensible act of defection" could claim the right to have his vote counted and given equal weightage or if there was a constitutional restriction to exclude such "tainted" votes.
He also asked the court to elaborate whether a parliamentarian, who had been declared to have committed defection, would be disqualified for life. It cautioned that unless horse-trading is eliminated, "a truly democratic polity shall forever remain an unfilled distant dream and ambition".
"Owing to the weak interpretation of Article 63-A entailing no prolonged disqualification, such members first enrich themselves and then come back to remain available to the highest bidder in the next round perpetuating this cancer."
The reference had been filed at a time when the then-opposition claimed the support of several dissident PTI lawmakers ahead of voting on the no-confidence resolution against then-prime minister Khan.
Article 63-A: According to Article 63-A of the Constitution, a parliamentarian can be disqualified on grounds of defection if he "votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the parliamentary party to which he belongs, in relation to election of the prime minister or chief minister; or a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or a money bill or a Constitution (amendment) bill".
On April 20, the Supreme Court hearing was subsequently adjourned till Thursday.
Telling in an anti-Imran Khan case Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday directed Deputy Attorney General Arshad Kayani to publicize details of the gifts presented to former prime minister Imran Khan by heads of states since he assumed office in August 2018.
In the final analysis, Shehbaz Sharif, helped by the Supreme Court to become Prime Minister, on Tuesday installed a 36 minister cabinet. Not surprisingly, at least 24 of the cabinet ministers are on bail on serious money laundering and corruption cases, according to Pakistani media reports.
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