KARACHI, Aug 25: A Sindh High Court election tribunal dismissed with costs on Monday a petition challenging Chief Minister Ali Muhammed Maher’s election to the Sindh Assembly for not being a graduate on Aug 24, 2002 — the day of his nomination from PS-6 (Ghotki-II).

Petitioner Abdul Latif Shah, the defeated PPP candidate from the constituency, submitted through Advocate Abdul Latif Channa that Mr Maher somehow managed to file several ‘spurious’ documents to cover up his ‘false declaration’ of being a graduate of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), Islamabad, before the scrutiny of nomination papers on Sept 2, 2002. The documents, however, left intact the allegation of his not being in possession of a bachelor’s degree on Aug 24,2002, as mandated by Article 8-A of the Conduct of General Election Order, 2002, read with Section 99 (1) (cc) of the Representation of People Act, 1976.

The petitioner, who initially failed to file an affidavit of evidence or list of official witnesses as required by the prescribed procedure, relied mainly on documents annexed by Mr Maher to his nomination papers.

He particularly cited an AIOU certificate of Aug 23, 2002, stating that Mr Maher had passed the BA (general group) exam with 64 per cent marks but that his result would stand cancelled if he was found to have been involved by the university’s unfair means committee in a case of impersonation in the last semester. A letter of the committee secretary dated August 30, 2002, however, exonerated him of the allegation. According to the petitioner, the certificate and the letter confirmed that the respondent chief minister was not in possession of a bachelor’s degree on Aug 24, 2002.

Mr Maher, through his counsel Rasheed A. Akhund and Additional Advocate-General M. Ahmed Pirzada, relied upon the same documents to substantiate his claim that he was a graduate on August 23, 2002, and that the declaration and the nomination papers were validly accepted by the returning officer, whose decision was rightly upheld by an appellate tribunal.

Justice Ghulam Rabbani, who constituted the tribunal, held that the record showed that the returning officer had sent the documents submitted by Mr Maher to the AIOU authorities to verify their authenticity. The university verified and endorsed them and the allegation that the respondent submitted ‘spurious’ documents was baseless. Referring to the dictionary meanings of the words ‘degree’, ‘possess’ and ‘bachelor’, he said it could not be alleged that Mr Maher had not been awarded the status of a bachelor of arts by the AIOU on Aug 23, 2002.

The petitioner, the judge observed, had failed to discharge his burden to prove his allegation with the same standard as was required for proving a charge in a criminal case. As in criminal proceedings, the benefit of the doubt must go the respondent. The petition, he said, had no merit and deserved to be dismissed with costs.