Simon Danczuk is likely to stand as a Labour candidate in Rochdale because the party cannot conclude its disciplinary process against the MP in time for the election, the Guardian understands.

Danczuk was suspended from the party in 2015, pending an investigation, after a tabloid newspaper revealed he had sent explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl.

He currently serves as an independent MP but is likely to be allowed to stand again for Labour in his Greater Manchester seat because to bar him would leave the party open to a legal challenge.

Labour’s national executive committee has referred his case to the party’s highest disciplinary body, but two senior party sources close to the NEC said there was concern Danczuk could take the party to court if he is deselected, given that the party is yet to find him guilty of any offence.

The party’s only avenue to remove Danczuk is for the NEC to judge him an unsuitable candidate when the party meets to agree its list of candidates next week, which committee members fear could lead the party to court.

Labour party rules mean all disciplinary procedures are suspended during an election campaign, meaning Danczuk cannot have his hearing before the party’s national constitutional committee (NCC) before the election on 8 June.

“Everything is on pause until the election,” one party source said. “And he’s the anomaly because it hasn’t been decided whether an MP can run as a Labour candidate.”

Another source close to the committee said it was “most likely” that Danczuk would be allowed to run as a Labour candidate. “He’s suspended and legal advice is likely to be that we can’t prevent him running as a Labour candidate because there is no finding of guilt,” the source said.

“There was also talk of a different process where he will get a hearing before the NEC, rather than the NCC, but that’s unlikely because he’d be able to challenge that.”

NEC members are due to meet on 3 May to rubberstamp all the candidates selected for the 630 seats the party will contest across the UK, including sitting MPs. Labour officials from party headquarters have told local Rochdale members that an official decision will be announced after the meeting on 3 May. The deadline for Labour’s candidate nominations is 5 May.

Another senior party figure said there was likely to be some dissent in the NEC over Danczuk’s future. “You have to have certain standards for being an MP, it’s a very important job with exceptional responsibility. Danczuk does not have many friends on the NEC, he could technically be deemed an unsuitable candidate at that meeting,” the source said.

“The point is that if someone is not meeting the standards you would expect as an MP, you have to stand by your principles, regardless of a potential legal case or whether he would stand against you and potentially split the vote.”

Sources close to Danczuk have previously said he would stand as an independent if he was kicked out of the party. Labour officials feared that under this scenario, the former councillor would still carry some personal support and would split Labour’s vote.

Danczuk said he would not comment upon the Labour inquiry and his suspension, adding: “I hope and expect to be the Labour candidate for Rochdale on June 8th.”

The MP said the explicit texts to the teenager had been sent at “an extremely low point” in his life, but the exposé has been followed by a series of scandals, including his arrest in Spain after an alleged row with his estranged wife, Karen.

He also admitted being paid for pictures of his private life sold by a photo agency to tabloids, though said the deal had been above board. His expenses have also come under scrutiny and he has been ordered to repay more than £11,00 by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority over money he claimed for the cost of his children living in London.