LAHORE, Aug 24: A full bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to allow Hafiz Asad Obeidullah to contest election for the office of Union Council 94 nazim on his failure to produce a certificate showing that his sanad of Shahadatus Sanvia was equivalent to a secondary school certificate.

Comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar and Justice Syed Sayeed Ashhad, the bench observed that the Supreme Court could not take a decision which was against its own verdict on the question of sanads obtained from a private religious educational institution.

It further observed that the production of an equivalence certificate was a legal necessity to consider such a sanad on a par with matriculation certificate issued by a board of intermediate and secondary education.

The apex court also observed that matriculation was the minimum academic qualification for a candidate to contest for positions of nazim or naib nazim and a sanad alone could not be held on a par with the required educational qualification.

Hafiz Asad filed his nomination papers for the office of nazim from UC No 94. A voter, Nadeem Asghar, challenged his candidature on the grounds that he was possessing a Shahadatus Sanvia sanad which was not on a par with the matriculation certificate.

The returning officer and the district returning officer accepted the objection and barred him from contesting election. The high court also rejected his appeal after which he moved the Supreme Court in a leave to appeal petition.

The apex court gave him two days to produce an equivalence certificate, which he could not.