Kochi, June 24: The Kerala High Court issued a significant ruling on Wednesday, directing 20 BJP councillors from the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation to re-take their oaths within four weeks. This order comes in the wake of a politically sensitive dispute regarding the oath-taking process that followed their assumption of office. The court’s decision has reignited discussions surrounding this long-standing controversy.
This issue dates back to January of this year when a division bench of the Kerala High Court issued notices to the councillors. The petition was filed by CPI(M) councillor S.P. Deepak.
The petition challenged the validity of the oaths taken by the BJP councillors, alleging that many of them invoked specific deities’ names instead of adhering to the prescribed legal format during their oath-taking.
During a previous hearing, the court stated that elected representatives must either take an oath in the name of God or make a “serious affirmation” according to the statutory format.
The court also questioned how oaths could be taken in the names of various deities when the law specifies a particular format for such oaths.
Acting on this petition, the court instructed the 20 councillors to re-take their oaths within four weeks.
Petitioner Deepak remarked that the court’s order validates his argument that there was a violation of the procedures and standards associated with oath-taking. According to him, some councillors had deviated from the prescribed words and invoked specific deities instead.
In his petition, Deepak also sought the annulment of the oaths, arguing that taking an oath in the names of various deities is legally invalid.
He had previously requested that the councillors be barred from participating in municipal meetings and receiving allowances until a final decision was made. However, the court rejected this interim request, allowing them to remain in office while clarifying that the validity of their oaths would depend on the final ruling.
It is noteworthy that the BJP achieved a historic victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, marking the first time the party has won in the state, ousting the CPI(M), which had been in power for four decades.
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