ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Monday that lawmakers holding fake-degrees could face criminal cases and gave  189 lawmakers, who had not submitted their educational certificates, time until April 5 to submit their documents for verification, DawnNews reported.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, resumed the hearing of the case pertaining to lawmakers with fake degrees.

During the hearing, the chief justice said that the degrees of 54 parliamentarians were declared as fake whereas 189 lawmakers had failed to submit their matric and intermediate certificates since the past two and a half years.

He added that according to the Constitution of Pakistan members of parliament could face criminal prosecution for intentionally submitting false statements and that the submission of fake degrees by lawmakers was in violation of Article 62 of the constitution.

Chaudhry further said that degrees should be issued from approved institutes and that the matter of degrees should be like an open book.

Secretary of the Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmed told the court that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had informed the commission in writing about 69  cases of fake degrees held by lawmakers and that the cases were forwarded to the relevant courts for criminal proceedings.

Ishtiaq further said that FIRs were lodged against 21 lawmakers who held fake degrees and that the names of lawmakers holding fake degrees were uploaded on the election commission website, along with the list of parliamentarians/Members of Provincial Assemblies disqualified under Article 63 (1) (c) of the Constitution and lawmakers who had not declared their details regarding dual citizenship.

The bench adjourned the next hearing over the case until April 8 and advised the election commission to send a notice to the 189 lawmakers, as a last chance, giving them time until April 5 to submit their educational certificates for verification, failing which they would declared as disqualified.

Moreover the court instructed the ECP not to accept the nomination papers of the 189 lawmakers for the upcoming elections until the matter of their respective degrees was not resolved.