ADDENDUM
Article 63A before substitution
1[63A. Disqualification on grounds of defection, etc. (1) If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed
of a single political party in a House—
(a) resigns from membership of his political party or joins another parliamentary party; or
(b) votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary
Party to which he belongs, in relation to__
(i) election of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister; or
(ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of noconfidence; or
(iii) a Money Bill;
he may be declared in writing by the Head of the Parliamentary party to have defected from the political party,
and the Head of the Parliamentary Party may forward a copy of the declaration to the Presiding Officer, and
shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the member concerned :
Provided that before making the declaration, the Head of the Parliamentary Party shall provide such
member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.
(2) A member of a House shall be demed to be a member of a Parliamentary Party if he, having been
elected as a candidate or nominee of a political party which constitutes the paliamentary Party in the House or,
having been elected otherwise than as a candidate or nominee of a political party, has become a member of
such Parliamentary Party after such elelction by means of a declaration in writing.
(3) Upon receipt of the declaration under clause (1), the Presiding Officer of the House shall within two
days refer the declaration to the Chief Election Commissioner who shall lay the declaration before the Election
Commission for its decision thereon confirming the declaration or otherwise within thirty days of its receipt by
the Chief Election Commissioner.
(4) Where the Election Commission confirms the declaration, the member referred to in clause (1) shall
cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant.
(5) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Election Commission may, within thirty days, prefer an
appeal to the Supreme Court which shall decide the matter within three months from the date of the filing of the
appeal.
(6) Nothing contained in this Article shall apply to the Chairman or Speaker of a House.
(7) For the purpose of this Article,
(a) "House" means the National Assembly or the Senate, in relation to the Federation; and a
Provincial Assembly in relation to the Province, as the case may be;
(b) "Presiding Officer" means the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate or the
Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, as the case may be.]
1 Subs. by the Chief Excutive's Order, 2002 (24 of 2002), Art. 3 and sch., for "Article 63A", which was previously amended by Act 24 of 1997 s. 2.
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