PESHAWAR: A resident of Swat district has moved the Peshawar High Court seeking disqualification of PTI MNA Murad Saeed for making a false declaration while filing nomination papers for the 2013 general elections.

Murad is at the centre of a controversy over his BS degree.

In the petition, NA-29 Swat voter Haider Ali Shah said by giving of false declaration under Section 12 of the Representation of Peoples Act, Murad not only failed to qualify to become a lawmaker under Article 62 of the Constitution but also exposed himself to disqualification under Section 99 of the RPA.

Read: PTI MNA in trouble over make-up examination

A high court bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain took up the petition for preliminary hearing and decided to fix the case along with another petition filed by Murad Saeed seeking the court’s order for the University of Peshawar to issue him the BS Environmental Science degree for the session 2005-09.

Hearing into that case will take place on April 30.

S Haziq Ali Shah, lawyer for the petitioner, said MNA Murad Saeed was non-sagacious and dishonest person and therefore, he was disqualified to be MNA.

Swat resident alleges MNA made false declaration while filing 2013 polls nomination

When the bench asked it could disqualify an MNA, the lawyer said there were many precedents of superior courts disqualifying elected representatives.

The bench observed that it would be appropriate to fix for hearing the case along with Murad’s petition regarding his degree.

Also read: PTI MNA Murad Saeed dismisses allegations of dubious degree

The lawyer said the PTI MNA submitted declaration to the Election Commission that neither he nor his family members were in default of any payment of government dues or utility charges including telephone, electricity, gas and water charges of an amount in excess of Rs10,000.

He claimed that when Murad was a Bachelor of Environmental Sciences student at the University of Peshawar, he used the varsity’s hostel and defaulted in payment of various dues, including that of hostel charges amounting to Rs19,680.

The lawyer said the default in payments were from 2007 to 2009 and continued even at the time of submission of his nomination papers for elections.

Also read: UoP professor in trouble over MNA make-up test

The respondents in the petition are Murad Saeed, Election Commission of Pakistan through the chief election commissioner, University of Peshawar through its registrar, and UoP controller of examination.

The petitioner also requested the court to stop Murad from functioning as MNA until the petition is disposed of.

He said the MNA had given false declaration regarding his educational qualification and therefore, he did not qualify to become a lawmaker.

The petitioner also referred to the controversy about a makeup examination involving Murad.

He requested the court to declare illegal the notification of Murad’s election as NA-29 MNA.

In his petition, Murad said he was a regular student of four-year Bachelor of Environmental Sciences programme at the UoP in the 2005-09 session.

He said he had completed all eight semesters and was entitled to have the degree but the UoP hadn’t been issuing him the degree, which was an illegal act on its part.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2015

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