LAHORE, Aug 8: Justice Syed Hamid Ali Shah of the Lahore High Court observed on Monday that a person adjudged as a defaulter in a bank loan case could not be allowed to contest local government elections.

He, however, allowed Hasnat Ali Shah, a candidate for the office of nazim from Alo Mahar Sharif, Sialkot, to deposit Rs3.7 million with the bank within four days to qualify himself to contest the election.

The judge issued the direction on the writ petition of Tariq Abdullah, a candidate for the office of naib nazim from the rival group, who stated that Syed Hasnat was a defaulter and the bank notified him a wilful defaulter.

He stated that a loan defaulter was barred from contesting election for the legislatures and the same prohibitory clause should apply on the candidates for local governments.

He submitted that the returning officer had rejected the nomination papers while the district returning officer accepted them on his appeal.

Hasnat Shah’s counsel submitted that the candidate and the bank had already reached an understanding and he could not be declared as a wilful defaulter.

REPLACEMENT: Justice Hamid Ali Shah reserved judgment on a writ petition through which Malik Wajid Mahmood, a candidate for the office of nazim of a Pattoki tehsil union council, had sought that either election be countermanded or he be allowed to replace naib nazim candidate Sardar Akhtar Husain who had died before the scrutiny of nomination papers.