Jamshed Dasti sentenced to 7 years in fake degree case

MULTAN: The Multan District and Sessions Court has sentenced former member of the National Assembly and Awami Raj Party chief Jamshed Khan Dasti to a total of 17 years in prison under various sections, the petitioner’s lawyer said.

However, he will serve a total of seven years in prison as the sentences will run concurrently. The court awarded Dasti three years under Section 82, two years under Section 420, seven years under Section 468 of the PPC, two years under Section 471, along with a fine of Rs10,000, and three years under Section 200.

Section 468 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) deals with forgery for cheating, making it punishable by imprisonment of up to seven years and a fine if a document is forged with the intent to deceive.

In contrast, under Indian law, Section 468 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023 also cover related provisions on forgery and recovery of fines, though the specifics vary by jurisdiction.

Section 420 of the PPC addresses the offence of cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property, punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment and a fine. This involves deceitfully persuading a person to part with property or valuable security. It is a non-bailable offence in Pakistan.

Section 471 of the PPC pertains to fraudulently or dishonestly using as genuine any document known or believed to be forged, carrying the same punishment as forgery itself. By contrast, Section 471 of the Indian Income Tax Act (now the Income Tax Act, 1961) and the BNSS 2023 relate to maintaining inventories for tax purposes, highlighting differences in legal frameworks.

Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan had initiated a fake degree case against Jamshed Dasti. He had contested the 2008 election based on a madrassa-issued degree, allegedly equivalent to a BA. The commission argued the degree was fake, observing that the Higher Education Commission had no record of it.