The Kerala High Court on Monday cleared the way for BJP councillor Sugathan R, who is under preventive detention under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), to take his oath of office from inside prison, holding that the will of the electorate cannot be sidelined merely because an elected representative is in preventive custody.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan directed that the oath be administered at 11 a.m. on July 14 inside the prison. The Court further ordered that accredited media personnel be allowed to witness the ceremony, observing that the oath-taking of a public representative is part of a democratic process that should remain transparent.
The order came in a petition filed by Sugathan, who sought assistance in complying with the High Court’s earlier direction requiring him to retake his oath as a councillor of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation.
During the hearing, the State argued that Sugathan’s detention under KAAPA prevented his release for the swearing-in ceremony. Referring to Article 22(3) of the Constitution, the prosecution contended that individuals held under preventive detention laws are not entitled to the same constitutional safeguards available to persons arrested in ordinary criminal cases.
The Court, however, shifted the focus to the democratic mandate behind Sugathan’s election. It noted that voters had elected him despite being aware of the criminal allegations against him and questioned whether arrangements could instead be made for the oath to be administered within the prison premises. The judge also indicated that prison authorities could be brought into the proceedings if required to facilitate the process.
Justice Kunhikrishnan additionally emphasised that members of the accredited press should be permitted to witness the ceremony so that the public remains informed about an event involving an elected representative.
The dispute traces back to the High Court’s June 24 judgment, which invalidated the oaths taken by Sugathan and several other councillors after finding that they pledged allegiance in the names of various deities, political martyrs and movements instead of taking the oath in the form prescribed under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.
At that time, the Court ruled that councillors must either swear in the name of God or make a solemn affirmation strictly in accordance with the statute. While it declared the earlier oaths invalid, it protected the validity of all official acts performed by the councillors until the date of the judgment and granted them four weeks to take the oath afresh.
Most of the affected councillors subsequently complied with the direction. Sugathan, however, was unable to do so because he had been detained under KAAPA since June 9 and has remained lodged in Viyyur Central Prison.
According to his petition, repeated requests made to the State government and the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation seeking arrangements for him to retake the oath received no response. The Corporation later scheduled the fresh oath-taking ceremony for July 14 at its conference hall.
Sugathan also obtained interim release from the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-II, Nedumangad, for the limited purpose of attending the ceremony. However, he argued that the order alone was insufficient because his preventive detention under KAAPA continued to operate, making a government decision necessary before he could actually be released.
Accepting the need to preserve the electoral mandate while respecting the detention order, the High Court opted for a middle path by directing that the swearing-in be conducted inside the prison itself.
