The Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the Election Commission's move to delay the Punjab provincial elections to 8 October "unconstitutional" and asked the poll body to conduct them on 14 May.
Quashing the ECP's order, the Supreme Court said in its ruling that the decision was unconstitutional, and had no legal jurisdiction before declaring it null and void.
"Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the commission to extend the date of elections beyond the 90 days period as provided in Article 224(2) of the Constitution," Pakistan's supreme court said in its verdict.
The decision is being viewed as a major victory for former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan whose party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was the main petitioner in the case.
Welcoming the verdict, PTI vice-chairman and ex-Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called the supreme court ruling as a "watershed moment".
"Today, the supreme court has buried the doctrine of necessity, restored the sanctity of the Constitution and buried all those conspiratorial forces that were creating hurdles in the way of democracy and a democratic and constitutional system in this country," Qureshi told reporters outside the court after the ruling.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif warned that the verdict would worsen the political crisis in the country.
Addressing media persons shortly after the ruling, Pakistan Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the court should have heard the case with "collective wisdom", adding that the "present political situation and crisis will be further aggravated".
Hours before the verdict, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah voiced support for holding simultaneous polls in the country as separate elections put an additional financial burden on the exchequer.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of an economic crisis with depleting forex reserves, and a freefalling national currency that hit a record low of PKR 288 to the US dollar on Tuesday.
Additionally, the cash-strapped nation has been negotiating a bail-out package with global lender the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for months, but talks have remained stalled on the issue of fuel subsidy announced by PM Sharif last month.