Taking oath in name of Oommen Chandy; HC invalidates swearing-in of panchayat member

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court invalidated the swearing-in of the congress member of Vakkkencherry panchayat for taking oath in the name of former chief minister Oommen Chandy. The court cancelled the oath of Sunil Chuvattupadom, grama panchayat member of Vakkkencherry in Palakkad. The high court has now issued the order on a complaint received against Sunil taking oath in the name of Oommen Chandy. The court's action comes after the cancellation of the oath of 20 members of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation who took oath in the name of gods.

The Kerala High Court has ordered the 20 BJP councilors of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to swear-in again within four weeks. CPM councilor S P Deepak approached the court in this regard. The plea demanded the opponent members to take the oath legally within the specified time and that they be barred from the council till then. Their voting in the mayoral election was also questioned.

The BJP councilors took oath in the names of Ayyappan, Kavilamma, Attukalamma, Bharatamba, Sreepadmanabhan, Gurudevan, martyrs etc. Deepak's plea states that this is a violation of Section 143 of the Kerala Municipality Act. As per law, only a solemn oath or affirmation in the name of God is permitted.