RAWALPINDI - PML-N MPA from Gujjar Khan, Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, has been awarded pre-arrest interim bail by the District and Sessions Judge (DSJ) till November 12 in fake degree case here on Tuesday.
The court also ordered to submit surety bond worth 100,000. DSJ Syed Maroof Ali granted pre-arrest interim bail to PML-N MPA from Gujjar Khan Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, who fought general elections 2008 on the base of a fake degree.
According to details, MPA Raja Shaukat Aziz appeared in the court to respond to a criminal complaint filed against him by Deputy Election Commissioner Rawalpindi Zahoor Ahmed Pasha for allegedly providing a fake BA degree with nomination papers to contest general elections 2008. The MPA has to knock the doors of court DSJ filing bail plea after the court issued his arrest warrants on November 1, 2012 for not appearing in the court.
In the bail plea, Bhatti filed through his lawyer Malik Waheed Anjum, stated that he was innocent and Police Station Gujjar Khan officials had already cleared him from the charges of using fake degree for 2008 general elections.
Earlier, DEC Zahoor Ahmed Pasha filed a complaint against the MPA for allegedly submitting fake degree of Punjab University with his nomination papers and later trying to change the degree with a diploma issued by Victoria College in London.
After being dissatisfied with the investigations of Gujjar Khan police, the DEC approached the court of DSJ Rawalpindi asking for penalising the MPA for committing forgery and submitting fake documents.
The police in Gujjar Khan registered criminal case against MPA Shaukat Aziz on complaint of Election Commission of Pakistan for submitting fake degree following the 2010 verdict of Supreme Court about cheching of the degrees of the parliamentarians.
However, police investigation washed away the charges leveled on MPA, saying Shaukat Bhatti did not submit any bachelor degree issued by PU with the nomination papers rather filed a diploma in business administration from London.
In the complaint filed through advocate Raja Shujah-ur-Rehman, the DEC maintained that the degree was checked from PU and the university informed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) that the admission form was filled in by Sheikh Shaukat Aziz not by Raja Shaukat Aziz. No degree was issued to Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti by the university.
According to the contents of the complaint after registration of criminal case the MPA with help of concerned staff got changed the degree with the diploma in the judicial record office of Gujar Khan.
This fact was later on established through any inquiry conducted by Additional District and Sessions Judge Mah Rukh Aziz Tara, the complaint contained.
 It may be recalled here that Shaukat Aziz was elected in 2008 on the ticket of PML-Q and later joined PML-N.