Kerala High Court invalidates oath taken by BJP councillors in the name of deities, martyrs

The Kerala High Court today declared the oath taken by 20 BJP councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation as invalid, on finding that they swore allegiance in the name of various deities, political martyrs, and movements [Adv SP Deepak v The Kerala State Election Commission]..The Court also declared an oath taken by Congress member Sunil Chuvattupadam of the Vadakkencherry Grama Panchayath as invalid on finding that he took the oath by also invoking the name of the late Congress leader Oomen Chandy. Chuvattupadam had sworn his oath by stating, "By God's blessing in the name of Oommen Chandy."Justice PV Kunhikrishnan held that when a statute stipulates a particular form of oath, it has to be followed strictly.Under the law, elected representatives are required to take their oath of office either in the name of God or by making a solemn affirmation as prescribed under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 (Municipality Act), the Court noted. "Taking an oath by an elected person in a democracy means that the elected person is promising the electorate that he will be honest, he will follow the constitution and the rule of law, and he will serve the people with sincerity. Therefore, when he takes the oath, it should be taken as prescribed by the relevant statute and rules." the Court said.The Court has directed the State Election Commission and other competent authorities to make arrangements for the councillors to take a fresh oath within four weeks..The ruling came on two petitions. One was a petition filed by CPI(M) councillor and party leader SP Deepak, who had questioned the manner in which 20 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders had been sworn in to municipal office at Thiruvananthapuram.It challenged the oath-taking ceremony held on December 21, 2025, after the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation elections.According to the petitioner, several BJP councillors took oath in the names of 'Gurudeva', 'Bharathamba' (Mother India), various other Hindu deities such as 'Kaavilamma, 'Attukal Amma', 'Sree Padmanabha Swami', 'Ayyappa' and even in the name of name of martyrs of their political organisation.A connected petition by one C Kannan challenged the oath taken by Congress leader Sunil Chuvattupadam, particularly his reference to Oomen Chandy in the oath..The Court examined the provisions of the Municipality Act and held that the expression 'God' appearing in the statutory oath cannot be substituted with any deity, political ideology, movement, organisation, individual or symbolic entity.It found that the councillors had deviated from the prescribed form of oath taking under the law and, therefore, their oaths could not be treated as legally valid.The Court also invoked Sree Narayana Guru's teaching of "one caste, one God, one religion, one God to humankind.""I am forced to say why we do not call the almighty of all religions with a common name, God? If that happens, there ends the whole problem. We are forgetting the declaration of Sree Narayana Guru, a century back, which says that 'ഒരു ജാതി, ഒരു മതം, ഒരു ദൈവം മനുഷ്യന്' (One Caste One Religion One God to Humankind)."The Court added,"We need not expand God by name. Let the almighty bless all! I leave it there. The upshot of the above discussion is that the writ petitions are to be allowed.".The Court clarified that the affected officials need not lose their positions, In this regard, the Court referred to Section 531 of the Municipality Act, which states that the actions taken by a local body or its members will not automatically become invalid merely because of procedural defects or irregularities.Relying on this provision, the Court extended the protection to the councillors' acts and decisions till today and allowed them an opportunity to take oath again in a lawful manner within four weeks..Senior counsel EK Nandakumar and advocates Bappu Galib Salam and Benoj C Augustin appeared for SP Deepak.Advocates DG Vipin, Daniel AJ, Manisha VV and J Amaldev appeared for C Kannan.Standing counsel Deepu Lal Mohan represented the Kerala State Election Commission.Standing counsel Suman Chakravarthy appeared for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation.Government Pleader P Abdul Nishad represented the state.Senior counsel S Sreekumar appeared for the BJP councillors..[Read Judgment]