Oaths must be taken ‘in name of God’ or by solemn affirmation, says Kerala High Court; 19 sworn in again

The Kerala High Court has invalidated the oath-taking ceremonies of several elected officials for deviating from the prescribed format, ruling that oaths must be sworn strictly "in the name of God" or by solemn affirmation.

The ruling, issued by Justice PV Kunhikrishnan, specifically addressed the oaths taken by 20 BJP councillors from the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation and a Congress ward member of a gram panchayat. These officials had invoked the names of Hindu deities, martyrs, and political figures during their ceremonies.

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Taking an oath by an elected person in a democracy means that the elected person is promising the electorate that he will be honest, he will follow the Constitution and the rule of law, and he will serve the people with sincerity. Therefore, when he takes the oath, it should be taken as prescribed by the relevant statute and rules

The court found such invocations impermissible under the Kerala Municipality Act and the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act. Justice Kunhikrishnan stated that an oath signifies a promise to the electorate to uphold the Constitution, the rule of law, and serve with sincerity, emphasizing that it must adhere to statutory requirements.

While the court granted the affected councillors four months to retake their oaths, 19 of them promptly did so in the prescribed manner on Wednesday. One councillor, Sugathan, could not participate as he is currently in prison. The ward member has yet to retake his oath.

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We need not expand God by name. Let the almighty bless all! I leave it there. The upshot of the above discussion is that the writ petitions are to be allowed