The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ruled that elected local body representatives cannot alter the statutory oath by adding names of deities, organisations, individuals or other expressions, holding that the oath must be taken strictly either “in the name of God” or through a solemn affirmation as prescribed by law.
Justice P V Kunhikrishnan delivered the judgment while hearing petitions related to oath-taking by councillors of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and a member of the Vadakkencherry grama panchayat in Palakkad district.
The court held that the Kerala Municipality Act and the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act specify that elected members must take oath either “in the name of God” or by making a solemn affirmation. Any expansion of the prescribed wording is not permitted under the law.
The matter came up after 20 councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation took oath in the names of various Hindu deities, “Bharathamba” (Mother India), “Bharatha Matha”, Gurudeva and political martyrs associated with their movement.
In another case, a Vadakkencherry grama panchayat member took oath “by God’s blessing in the name of Oommen Chandy”.
The court observed that an oath is a solemn commitment by an elected representative to the electorate to uphold the Constitution, follow the rule of law and discharge public duties honestly. Therefore, it said, the oath must be administered in the exact manner laid down by the statute.
“When the statute prescribes a particular manner in which an oath is to be taken… the expansion of 'God' is not permissible,” the judgment stated.
Justice Kunhikrishnan clarified that individuals have the freedom to worship any deity or follow any religion, but the legally prescribed form of oath cannot be modified by adding or substituting words.
However, the court did not invalidate the elections of the representatives concerned, stating that the democratic mandate would not be disturbed due to the defective oath-taking process.
The court directed authorities to arrange for the affected councillors and the panchayat member to take a fresh oath in accordance with the law within four weeks.
It also ruled that no penalties would be imposed, noting that the representatives acted under a bona fide belief that their oath format was valid.
For the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillors, the court said their actions taken so far would remain protected under Section 531 of the Kerala Municipality Act. However, since the Panchayat Raj Act does not have a similar protective provision, actions carried out by the Vadakkencherry member until now were held invalid, though he was given an opportunity to retake the oath.
The judge also referred to the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru and the constitutional principle of secularism, observing that people may refer to the Almighty by different names, but the law only requires the oath to be taken “in the name of God” or by solemn affirmation without further additions.
(With inputs from PTI)
