The Sindh High Court (SHC), on Thursday, directed Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla to provide educational certificates in a petition filed against his alleged fake degree. Counsels of Election Commission of Pakistan, the educational board and other respondents appeared before the SHC, where the defendant asked for some time to present the educational certificates. The court ordered the defence to bring evidence before the court on April 3 and adjourned the hearing. A petition was filed in the SHC that alleged Chawla of acquiring his educational degrees from a Mukesh Kumar Bansari from Sajawal and urged the court to issue his disqualification orders. In 2010, Hyderabad Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education had officially confirmed to University of Sindh that no person by the name of the then Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP)provincial minister for excise and taxation, Mukesh Kumar Chawla had passed class X and XII examinations held by the board. Responding to the university’s queries about Mr Chawla’s certificates, it was said that one Mukesh Kumar Bansari did, however, appear in matriculation and intermediate examinations and that Chawla’s particulars matched with the former when sent for verification. A Jai Kumar had earlier challenged Chawla’s election as a member of the provincial assembly and registered a formal complaint, requesting the Supreme Court to take suo moto action. Published in Daily Times, March 8th 2019.