Kochi, 24 June (H.S.) :

In a significant setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Kerala High Court on Wednesday declared invalid the oath of office taken by 20 BJP councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and directed them to retake the oath within four weeks.

The order was passed on a petition filed by CPM leader and corporation councillor S.P. Deepak, who had challenged the manner in which the councillors had sworn in after being elected to the civic body.

The controversy arose after the BJP councillors, during the oath-taking ceremony, invoked the names of specific deities and martyrs while taking the oath. The petitioner argued that such additions amounted to a violation of the statutory format prescribed under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.

Agreeing with the contention, the High Court held that elected representatives are permitted to take the oath only “in the name of God” or “solemnly affirm,” as specified in the law. The court observed that inserting the names of individuals, personal deities, martyrs or other references into the official oath amounted to a deviation from the legally prescribed format.

The judgment emphasized that elected members have no authority to alter, modify or supplement the official text of the oath according to their personal preferences. Any departure from the prescribed wording, the court said, would amount to a violation of the statutory provisions governing the oath-taking process.

While the petitioner had sought the disqualification of the BJP councillors for allegedly violating the law, the court stopped short of granting that relief. Instead, it invalidated the oaths already taken and ordered the councillors to take a fresh oath in accordance with the provisions of the Kerala Municipality Act within four weeks.

The BJP had earlier defended the oath-taking ceremony, maintaining that there was nothing unusual or improper in the manner in which the councillors had taken their oath.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman