ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the suspension of a sentence handed to an election candidate will not reverse his or her disqualification to take part in the polls.
This verdict came on an appeal filed by PML-N Gujrat leader Nasir Mehmood and another candidate.
They had challenged a Lahore High Court ruling that declared them ineligible to contest the local government elections.
A three-judge bench of the apex court held that the suspension of a sentence will not make an election candidate eligible to contest the elections.
“The suspension of a sentence would have no consequence on the conviction of the appellants for the purposes of being qualified to contest either the local bodies elections or the elections for the Legislative Assemblies,” reads the ruling authored by Justice Ijazul Ahsan.
The bench observed that the disqualification of a candidate due to the conviction that continues to hold the field will remain intact unless that sentence or conviction is set aside by an appellate court.
