ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously accepted a review petition against its 2022 verdict related to the defection clause under Article 63-A of the Constitution.
Through its May 17, 2022 verdict, the SC had declared that votes cast contrary to the parliamentary party lines in four instances outlined in Article 63-A should not be counted. Today’s ruling means that in any future legislation, the ballots of lawmakers who vote against party policy will be counted.
These four instances are the election of prime minister and chief minister; a vote of confidence or no-confidence; a Constitution amendment bill; and a money bill.
Today’s verdict, pronounced by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, could potentially provide major relief to the government in its attempts to garner the required support to make a set of amendments to the Constitution, multiple of which pertain to the judiciary.–Dawn