SC adjourns hearing on Presidential reference seeking interpretation of Article 63-A.

ISLAMABAD -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on Presidential reference seeking its opinion on Article 63-A of the Constitution till Wednesday.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justic Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan, Justice Muneeb Akhtar, Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel heard the Presidential reference.

During the course of proceedings, Advocate Farooq H Naek counsel for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said that the former Attorney General had given political and moral arguments for lifelong disqualification and no legal argument has been presented on lifetime disqualification of defectors.

He said that the intention to include Article 63A in the constitution must also be considered. Articles 62 and 63 had been amended many times since 1973, he added.

He said that every government and dictators continued to amend Articles 58, 62, 63 and 96.

Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan observed that the purpose of Article 63-A was to prevent defection from the party. However, it remained to be reviewed whether the punishment for switching parties was strong enough to shake the conscience of a lawmaker concerned, he added.

The Chief Justice noted that the 18th Amendment included a judicial declaration in Article 62F.

Justice Mandokhail asked Naek whether he was accepting that defection was a crime. If it was a crime, then why was the vote of a criminal counted? he questioned.

Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan cited an observation of an American judge, saying people in the US would not vote for a person who went against the court orders.

Naek said that these were the problems of the new democratic forces. He said that the country was heading towards anarchy as no one was willing to adhere to the court orders.

Upon this, the Chief Justice said that the situation was not bad enough to avoid discussions on a general matter.

Justice Ijaz said that it...