The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) directed 20 councillors of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, and a Congress ward member of the Vadakkanchery grama panchayat in Palakkad to retake their oaths in the swearing-in ceremony within four weeks after stating that the oath should either be in the name of God or a solemn affirmation. 

Allowing a petition filed by Left Democratic Front (LDF) Council Party leader in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, S.P. Deepak, the Single Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan directed the State to make necessary arrangements to facilitate the swearing-in ceremony of the councillors again. Mr. Deepak had contended that since the oath taken by the 20 councillors violated the provisions of the Municipality Act, all subsequent actions of the councillors in their official capacity was invalid. 

Invalid

The councillors had argued that they took the oath in the name of their belief that certain persons and deities are their God, and so their oaths were valid. The court held that the councillors’ original oaths in the name of various deities, martyrs and political movements were invalid as per the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994. However, the court held that “Simply because the councillors committed an illegality during the oath-taking ceremony, their election cannot be set aside. The mandate of the people is supreme in a  democracy.”

While Deputy Mayor G.S. Ashanath and councillor R. Vinod took their oath in the name of Bharath Matha, some of the councillors took oath in the name of “Balidaanis” (martyrs in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh parlance). Several of them rook oath in the name of Sree Padmanabhaswamy while a few opted for Attukal Amma. Some chose to take oath in the name of their local deities—Thiruvallam councillor Gopakumar took oath in the name of Thiruvallam Parasuraman, Kamaleswaram councillor V. Giri in the name of Irumkulangara Durga Bhagavathi, Pangode councillor Vishnu Mohan in the name of Udiyannoor Devi and Valiyasala councillor V.S. Soorya in the name of “Kaavilamma.”

Ceremony held

Immediately after the court ruling, an oath taking ceremony was quickly organised at the Corporation conference hall, in which 19 councillors took oath.

R. Sugathan, who was arrested under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA) and currently lodged at the high-security correctional facility at Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur, could not take part. With over 19 criminal cases, including several serious charges such as attempted murder, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to retake his oath within the next four weeks. Both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) have been demanding his removal from the council. Mr. Sugathan had taken his oath in the name of ‘Gurudevan.’

In Vadakkanchery

In a connected petition heard together by the Single Bench, the oath taken by Congress member Sunil Chuvattupadam, an elected member from Vadakkanchery panchayat, was also declared invalid as per the Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. All the acts done by Mr. Chuvattupadam as a member of the grama panchayat were declared invalid.