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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Bechu Kurian Thomas, J.
Deepak K. – Petitioner
Versus
The Kerala State Election Commission and Ors. – Respondents
WP(C) NO. 15253, 15289 of 2023
Decided On : 06-11-2023
Defection - Local Self Government Institutions - Kerala Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act, 1999, Section 3A - The judgment discusses the definition of a political party, the conduct leading to disqualification under Section 3(1)(a) and the interpretation of the Act in light of the context and purpose of the statute.
Fact of the Case:
Sri. Mathew Joseph, an elected member of the Thodupuzha Municipal Council, faced allegations of defection by voluntarily giving up membership of the party under whose banner he was elected. Two petitions were filed before the Kerala State Election Commission, challenging his disqualification due to defection. The petitions were dismissed, leading to the writ petitions before the court.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that Sri. Mathew Joseph had voluntarily given up membership of the political party under which he was elected, leading to his disqualification under Section 3(1)(a) of the Act. The court also held that the impugned order of the Election Commission was perverse and required interference.
Issues: The issues included whether the party KCMPJJ could be treated as a political party, whether Sri. Mathew Joseph had acquired disqualification under Section 3(1)(a) and 3(1)(b) of the Act, and whether the impugned order of the Election Commission required interference.
Ratio Decidendi: The court interpreted the definition of a political party, the conditions for disqualification under Section 3 of the Act, and the conduct leading to disqualification. It emphasized the importance of considering the context and purpose of the statute in interpreting its provisions.
Final Decision: The court set aside the impugned order, allowed one writ petition, and declared Sri. Mathew Joseph disqualified from being a member of the Thodupuzha Municipal Council.
JUDGMENT :
Sri. Mathew Joseph, an elected member of the Thodupuzha Municipal Council, is alleged to have defected by voluntarily giving up membership of the party under whose banner he was elected. Two petitions were filed before the Kerala State Election Commission alleging that Sri. Mathew Joseph had become disqualified due to defection by voluntarily giving up membership of the party as well as of the coalition of which he was a member. Both petitions were dismissed by the impugned order. These two writ petitions challenge the aforementioned order invoking this Court's jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
2. Sri.Joseph John and Sri. Deepak, the two writ petitioners, are the elected members representing Ward No.27 and Ward No.3, respectively, while Sri. Mathew Joseph is the elected member from Ward No.11 of Thodupuzha Municipality. The elections to the Local Self Government Institutions were held in the year 2020. Sri. Deepak contested under the banner of the Indian National Congress, while Sri. Joseph John and Sri. Mathew Joseph contested under the banner of Kerala Congress (M) P.J.Joseph Group. Prior to the election, the party, Kerala Congress (M), had split into two factions -Kerala Congress (M) led by Sri. Jose K.Mani and Kerala Congress (M) P.J. Joseph Group, led by Sri. P.J. Joseph. Though disputes arose between the two factions, pursuant to an order of the Election Commission and of this Court, the Kerala Congress (M) led by Sri. Jose K.Mani was given the symbol 'two leaves' while Kerala Congress (M) led by Shri. P.J. Joseph was given the symbol 'chenda’ (drum), resulting in the former becoming known as Kerala Congress (M) (hereafter referred to as ‘KCM’ for brevity) and the latter as Kerala Congress (M) P.J.Joseph (hereafter referred to as ‘KCMPJJ’ for short). KCM was part of the Left Democratic Front, while KCMPJJ was part of the coalition of the UDF group. The coalition of UDF included the INC and KCMPJJ, while the coalition of LDF included the CPI, the CPM and KCM.
3. According to the petitioners, Sri. Mathew Joseph had contested the election as a member of the KCMPJJ with the symbol 'chenda', which was part of a coalition with the UDF. After getting elected as a member of the said party, he voluntarily gave up his membership with KCMPJJ and joined the KCM, which is a coalition group with the LDF and thereby acquired disqualification under Section 3A of the Kerala Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act, 1999 (for short, 'the Act). When Sri. Joseph John alleged in his petition that Sri. Mathew Joseph voluntarily gave up membership of KCMPJJ, Sri. Deepak alleged that Sri. Mathew Joseph voluntarily gave up membership of the coalition of UDF and thereby incurred disqualification.
4. Sri. Mathew Joseph opposed the petitions and contended that though he contested the elections of the Thodupuzha Municipality under the symbol 'chenda', in the elections of 2020, he had not given up membership of the party -Kerala Congress (M) and that he still continues as a member of KCM as a Councillor in the Thodupuzha Municipality. However, he denied knowledge of any split in the KCM or whether Sri. P.J. Joseph was declared as the Chairman of KCMPJJ or of any merger, as alleged. The respondent also denied the allegation of having joined any political party or even having any connection with the CPI (M) party.
5. Both petitions were tried together by the Election Commission. The original petitioners before the Election Commission examined PW1 to PW7 and marked Ext.A1 to A16, while the respondent examined himself as RW1. Seven documents were marked as Ext X1 to Ext X7. By the impugned order, the State Election Commission came to the conclusion that there was no cause of action to construe a situation warranting disqualification and dismissed both petitions.
6. Sri. K.C. Vincent and Sri. Manoj P. Kunjachan, the learned counsel for the petitioners, vehemently contended that the impugned order of the State Electi
The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of the Kerala Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act, 1999, in light of the context and purpose of the statute, emphas....
Section 3(1)(b) of the Act applies only if the elected person is an independent member of the coalition.
When a member stood for the election to contest against a candidate of his own coalition, it can be deemed that the member has voluntarily given up his membership of the political party.
A member of a local authority who switches allegiance from a splinter group of a political party is deemed to have voluntarily given up their membership, leading to disqualification under the Kerala ....
There can be many inferences for voluntarily giving up the membership even if one has not resigned; the case at hand is one where the petitioners have all resigned, therefore, no inference need be dr....
Voluntary resignation or merger with another party, as per the Defection Act, leads to disqualification, regardless of subsequent actions or acceptance of resignation.
Compliance with statutory procedural requirements is essential to uphold the validity of directives impacting party membership and election outcomes.
A member of a local authority is disqualified for defecting from their political party, as per Section 3 of the Kerala Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act, 1999.
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