Kerala HC allows BJP councillor R. Sugathan to take oath in Viyyur jail
The Kerala High Court on Monday (July 13, 2026) allowed R. Sugathan, a councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, who
The Kerala High Court on Monday (July 13, 2026) allowed R. Sugathan, a councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, who is under a si month preventive detention under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), to take his oath of office inside the Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur on Tuesday. The oath is to be arranged by the Superintendent of Viyyur Central Prison and administered by the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram at 11 a.m. The court also stated that accredited mediapersons should be allowed to participate in the ceremony.
Sugathan was among the 20 BJP councillors who had been directed by the High Court to retake their oaths after they had violated procedure during the original ceremony by using the names of local deities. Nineteen councillors retook their oaths, but Mr. Sugathan was detained at the time and was not able to attend the ceremony. Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan had earlier directed the Director General of Prisons (DGP) to find out whether an oath-taking ceremony could be held inside the jail.
The DGP informed the court that since the Mr. Sugathan was under preventive detention, he could not be released, but the required arrangements could be made. By July 14 Sugathan had contended that he needed to retake the oath by July 14 and that the majority held by the BJP in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation would be lost otherwise. The court stated that ‘serious consequences would follow’ if Mr. Sugathan was not allowed to take oath and that the court had a duty to uphold democracy when ‘the very pulse of democracy is made to collapse over a solitary, disputed oath’.
"The people’s mandate cannot be massacred by a procedural lapse," the court held. The police have registered 19 criminal cases against Mr. Sugathan in the Vattiyurkavu and Nedumangad police stations over the years, involving offences such as attempted murder, rioting, criminal intimidation and causing hurt.
The BriefWire