ISLAMABAD, Nov 19: The Supreme Court will begin hearing two constitutional petitions on Wednesday, seeking change in the law which bars those politicians who were defeated in the October elections to contest the Senate election.

The five-judge bench specially constituted to hear the petitions, will consist of Chief Justice Shaikh Riaz, Justice Munir A. Sheikh, Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq.

The petitioners, Javed Jabbar and Ayub Khattak, challenged Article 8 AA of the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, barring those who were defeated in the general elections to vie for the Senate.

Javed Jabbar, who contested election from Karachi, was defeated. His party, however, is in position to get elected to Senate, as National Alliance has enough members.

The petitioner stated that some federal ministers who had applied for ticket of a party, were misusing their official position. Knowing that such a restriction would be imposed, they had not contested elections, he said.

The petitioner further contended that it was the cabinet decision that those ministers who were desirous of contesting elections, would have to resign from the their cabinet slot.

By not enforcing the same decision on those ministers who were aspiring for Senate seat, it was violating its own decision. The petitioners stated that the sitting ministers were beneficiary of the legislation.

The government, 19 days after the holding of general elections, had amended the Conduct of General Elections (eighth amendment) Order 2002, had added Article 8 AA, providing that “a person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Senate if, having been a candidate for election to the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly at the elections held under this Order he has not been elected to such assembly.”

Four sitting ministers, Law Minister Dr Khalid Ranjha, Communication Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider, have applied to PML-Q for Senate ticket.

The law minister had said that amendment in Conduct of General Elections (Eight Amendment) Order, 2002, disqualifying those politicians who were defeated in the October elections to contest the Senate election was not passed with ill motive. “The disqualification was brought in to forestall re-entry of the defeated candidates through political manipulations,” it had said.