The Supreme Court has ruled that a petition to quash the constitutional amendment that disqualifies MPs for defection or expulsion from a political party can be heard by the court.
The state attorneys argued that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
Hearings were held on Monday and Tuesday morning before the full bench ruled that the court has jurisdiction to hear the case.
The Attorney General's (AG) Office requested 10 days to respond. Chief Justice Muthasim Adnan concluded the hearing by giving 10 working days as requested.
He did not announce a date for the next hearing.
The state believes that the Supreme Court does not have the power to determine the validity of an amendment to the Constitution or to quash an article of the Constitution.
Speaking at the first hearing on Monday, lawyer Mahfooz Saeed said the amendment is not only unconstitutional but also not a feature of the presidential system.
"The Constitution places the utmost importance on the fundamental rights of the people and the existence of all powers of the state as originating and continuing from the people. The people will represent this power through their elected members," he stated.
Last year, a subsection (e) was added to Article 73 of the Constitution, specifying new conditions for the removal of MPs.
With the new amendments, MPs will lose their seat if they defect from the political party under whose ticket they were elected, join a political party after being elected as an independent candidate, or voluntarily leave or are expelled from their political party while in office.
In his case submitted to the top court, former Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain argued that the amendments were unconstitutional as they contravened the basic principles in Articles 4, 8, 5, 26, 75 and 90 of the Constitution.
Many legal experts and civil society organizations have expressed concern over the amendments rushed through the government-controlled Parliament. The constitution was changed within a few hours with the votes of 78 MPs.
