Kerala HC invalidates oaths of 20 Thiruvananthapuram councillors, orders fresh swearing-in
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) directed 20 elected councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation to retake their oaths within four weeks
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) directed 20 elected councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation to retake their oaths within four weeks. The court held that the councillors’ original oaths in the names of various deities, martyrs, and political movements in their swearing-in ceremony in January, were invalid under the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994.
Allowing the petition filed by LDF council party Leader, 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. Election valid However, the court dismissed the petitioner’s plea to set aside the councillors' election due to a violation of the oath-taking ceremony.
Deepak had contended that the oath in a swearing-in ceremony should either be in the name of ‘God’ or a solemn affirmation; therefore, the oath taken by the 20 councillors violated the provisions
of the Municipality Act. 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.
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