Kerala High Court Rules on Oath-Taking for Elected Representatives

The Kerala High Court has given a major verdict on the oath. The court made it clear that the elected representatives of the local bodies cannot go beyond the words prescribed in the law while taking the oath. That is, the oath can be taken in the name of God or the oath of integrity can be taken without taking the name of God. It is not permissible to add the name of gods and goddesses, Mother India, any organization, political martyr or any person to it. On this basis, the court considered the oath of some councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation illegal. The court said that adding any new word on their behalf will be considered completely wrong. The matter reached the court when 20 councillors of the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation took the names of different Hindu deities,'Bharatamba ','Bharat Mata ', Gurudev, martyrs of their political movement while taking the oath. Another petition related to this was also about the oath of the Vadakkanchery Gram Panchayat member of Palakkad district. That member asked the High Court whether the oath of Oommen Chandy's name was allowed outside the law.