Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman has been thrown out of office after being found guilty of corruption and illegal practices during election.
The results of his re-election as mayor of the east London borough in 2014 was declared 'void' by Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey, who sat as a judge in the special High Court hearing.
The Bangladesh-born was banned from contesting any more elections and ordered to vacate his post immediately.
The court also slapped a £250,000 fine on Rahman and convicted his aide Alibor Choudhury of illegal practices.
Rahman's party 'Tower Hamlets First' told the BBC they were seeking legal advice for a judicial review against the 'shocking' judgment.
The Election Commissioner, however, said that Tower Hamlets First was "never really a party but the alter ego of Lutfur Rahman".
An independent social democrat, he was elected in last year's May by a margin of 3,000 votes.
Rahman was dragged to court by four voters and accused of a systematic campaign of intimidation, bribing religious groups, tempering with ballot papers, fraud in postal voting and also at polling stations. -bdnews24.com