The Kerala High Court allowed BJP councillor R. Sugathan of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to take his oath of office inside Viyyur Central Prison on Tuesday while he was under preventive detention under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. The order is important because it links a municipal oath-taking dispute with preventive detention and the functioning of a local self-government institution.
The mayor is to administer the oath in prison. The direction follows a requirement that 20 BJP councillors retake their oaths after they violated the prescribed format in the original ceremony by invoking local deities instead of using the official wording.
Background and earlier position
Municipal councillors must comply with the oath-taking procedure prescribed for office. When the original Thiruvananthapuram Corporation ceremony deviated from that format, the councillors were directed to retake the oath, showing that procedural compliance can affect the legal validity of membership and the balance of power in a municipal body.
What changed now
The Kerala High Court has enabled a prison-based oath-taking arrangement so that a detained councillor can complete a formal requirement without waiting for release. The practical change is that preventive detention will not automatically block the completion of office-taking formalities when the court permits an alternative method.
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