Sugathan takes oath inside jail; Mayor administers oath

THRISSUR: BJP councillor R. Sugathan, who is under preventive detention under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), took the oath of office inside the Viyyur Central Jail on Tuesday. The oath-taking ceremony took place at around 11 am on a specially arranged stage in the prison library hall. Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.V. Rajesh administered the oath. Sugathan took the oath in the name of God.

Sugathan represents the Vazhottukonam ward in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. This is the first time in Kerala's history that an elected public representative has taken the oath of office while in jail.

Only three chairs were placed on the stage for the Mayor, the Corporation Secretary, and the Jail Superintendent. The ceremony lasted only a few minutes, and the media were allowed to attend.

The oath was administered following the directions of the High Court. A day earlier, the court had instructed the Jail Superintendent to make the necessary arrangements. The rare order came while considering a petition filed by Sugathan.

Sugathan was among 20 BJP councillors whose earlier oath-taking ceremonies were cancelled by the High Court after it ruled that the form of oath they had taken, including invoking the names of deities, was not legally valid. While the other councillors later retook the oath at the Corporation office, Sugathan was unable to do so because he was in jail.

In its order, Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said the people's mandate must be respected and that the democratic process should not be disrupted. The court observed that Sugathan could not be released because he was under preventive detention under KAAPA. However, it added that extraordinary situations require extraordinary decisions to ensure that the people's mandate is not undermined.