The court’s judgement has to be implemented whether the government likes it or not, legal expert Shah Khawar said on Thursday. The Supreme Court fixed May 14 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly in its decision—which was rejected by the ruling alliance—earlier this month.

“Parliament does the legislation and the judiciary has to make decisions according to that. The executive, which is the government, has to implement whether they like this judgement or not,” he said in response to a query on Asma Shirazi’s show Faisla Aap Ka.

Khawar was responding to queries related to the top court’s ruling that annulled the Election Commission of Pakistan’s decision to postpone snap polls in Punjab and the government’s move to clip the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP).

But the top court on Thursday suspended the bill aimed at clipping the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP)—a law that is yet to take effect. But the government was swift to reject the judgement and described the order as a “clear example of a conflict of interest”.

The cabinet and Parliament demanded a full court bench to hear the case. The Prime Shehbaz Sharif-led government placed its argument in view of the apparent divisions in the judgement.

When Shirazi asked that the government’s demand for a full bench was not formed, Khawar agreed with that. But Khawar wondered how the ruling could be undone if it was still in place. “This can be undone if you have to adopt legal and constitutional recourse adopt,” he said and advised the government to challenge the judgement as the scope of the review says “there is an apparent error floating on the surface of the judgement”.

The SC had ruled that elections in KP and Punjab should be held within 90 days in a 3-2 order last month. But the government had disputed it, calling the verdict 4-3 instead after Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah raised objections on the formation of the bench as well as the invocation of the SC’s suo motu jurisdiction by the chief justice.

On the government’s stance, he reiterated that it should file a review that there was a clear division from both sides.

He agreed with his fellow guest former PPP leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who said: “Because you don’t have the intention to do something, you will make 100 reasons.” It was apparently giving an impression that the government was not opting for review.

“I think they have to take some wise decision from both sides,” Khawar said.

When asked why the 90-day order was not given to KP, where the assembly is dissolved, he said it was a big question. “The election of Punjab will be a game changer of the whole of the general elections,” he said, “in order to avoid this controversy because right now judiciary is in the line of fire, this could have been resolved when a full court bench was formed.”

Former PPP leader Khokhar said the powers of suo motu bestowed with the CJP have been controversial for a long time, adding that there was a consensus among the legal fraternity that such a power has to be regulated.

“These powers of suo motu have been used at whims, often used arbitrarily, and because of the excessive use of these powers a lopsided view of law has emerged,” he said.

Khokhar recalled the past judgements that have been a stain on judicial history and described it as a “miscarriage of justice”.

PTI lawyer Ahmed Awais said that a non-issue has been made an issue in the country. “This is the job of the SC to give a ruling. Now whether it is wrong or right that has to be implemented.”

He added that the court had called for negotiations before the April 13 decision. “There is no doubt that this issue. This problem would have been solved by sitting together. But the path on which the rulers are walking is becoming dangerous,” he said and called for unity to save the country.