ISLAMABAD, Nov 20: The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that the Gen Pervez Musharraf has ceased his right to legislate as the three years period granted to him by the apex court, had come to end on Oct 12, 2002.

A five-member special bench which took up two constitutional petitions, seeking change in the law which bars those politicians who were defeated in the October elections to contest the Senate election, was informed that the amendment in the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, was made with mala fide intention.

Qazi Mohammad Jamil, former attorney general, representing petitioner Ayub Khattak, contended that the Supreme Court in its judgment on military takeover had justified constitutional deviations under the doctrine of public necessity.

The apex court, he argued, gave a fixed period of three years to the military government from Oct 12, 1999 to Oct 12, 2002 for the attainment of his objectives.

He said the period of constitutional deviation had terminated on Oct 12, 2002, hence Gen Pervez Musharraf had no authority to take any measure or pass any law after that date.

The counsel further stated that the Supreme Court while validating military takeover, had declared that military ruler would have no power to touch the salient features of the Constitution, federalism, parliamentary form of democracy, Islamic provisions of the Constitution and independence of judiciary.

He argued that Senate being symbol of federalism and the amendment in Conduct of General Elections Order barring the defeated in the elections, were tantamount to depriving the provincial assembly members of their right to chose the representatives for the Senate.

He further stated that elections to the National Assembly and provincial assemblies had been completed on Oct 12 and the amendment in the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002, was introduced on Oct 29, 2002.

To show that the amendment was made with mala fide intentions, the counsel said the government, after holding of elections on Oct 10, 2002 was aware of those who had lost elections to the assemblies and the whole exercise was aimed to exclude them, or at least some of them.

He argued that the candidates of national and provincial assemblies were not aware of the amendment and if it had been known to them, they might not had contested the elections to Assembly or provincial assembly.

The court adjourned the hearing till Thursday when counsel for Javed Jabbar, another petitioner, would advance his arguments for lifting the ban on the defeated politicians.

The SC bench consisted of Chief Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmad, Justice Munir A. Sheikh, Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Qazi Mohammad Farooq.