Kerala High Court Dismisses Election Petition Filed By Independent Candidate Against Union Minister Suresh Gopi

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday (07 April) dismissed an Election Petition filed against Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi challenging his election from Thrissur Parliamentary Constituency. Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath pronounced the order today in the open Court in a plea filed by Joshi Villadom, who has contested as an Independent Candidate from Thrissur Parliamentary Constituency in 2024 Parliamentary Elections.The petitioner alleged corrupt practices under Section 123(3-A) and 123 (4) of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951, and has claimed that Gopi made religious appeals to voters and influences members of the Christian community. The petitioner also alleged improper acceptance of nominations of contesting candidates and sought to be declares the duly candidate. The Court found that the petition had multiple defects including, non-compliance with Section 81(3) of the Act, which mandates that copies of the election petition served on respondents must be attested by the petitioner as 'true copies'. The Court noted that the copies provided were merely photocopies without the petitioner's signature or proper attestation. The Court held that the non-compliance of the the mandatory provision will lead to dismissal under Section 86(1) of the Act. The Court further observed that the allegations of corrupt practices were vague and lacked essential particulars. Claims such as visits to churches, alleged influence on Christian voters, and donation of a gold crown were found insufficient to constitute corrupt practices under the law.The Court noted that the petition failed to establish that any alleged acts were carried out to further electoral prospects or materially affect the election outcome, key elements required under the statute. The Court added that the failure to file a proper affidavit in the prescribed format supporting allegations of corrupt practices as another deficiency of the petition. The Court thus held: "The challenge to the maintainability of the Election Petition raised by the 1st respondent must succeed. The mandate of Section 81(3) of the RP Act is patently breached. The Election Petition not only lacked the material facts, but it also lacked material particulars." "The Election Petition read as a whole does not disclose any cause of action or triable issue. In short, there is no Election Petition at all to be entertained or adjudicated, as none of the requirements in law mandated under the RP Act or Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, are fulfilled or satisfied. Accordingly, IA No.6/2025 stands allowed and the Election Petition is dismissed in limine." Court concludedWith these observations, the Court dismissed the Election Petition. Significant to note that last week, the Court had dismissed an interim application filed by Gopi seeking dismissal of another election petition filed against by Binoy A. S., AIYF Thrissur District President, him over alleged corrupt practices.Case Title: Joshi Villadom v Suresh Gopi Case No: El.Pet. 1/ 2025Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 191Party-in-Person Counsel for Respondent: K. Ramakumar (Sr.), B.N.Shivasankar, Tinu T. Joseph, Sini V.S, Adithya Kiran V.E, Deepu Lal Mohan (SC- ECI)Click Here To Read/ Download Order in IA 6/2025 in El.Pet. 1/2025Click Here To Read/ Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Dismisses Election Petition Filed By Independent Candidate Against Union Minister Suresh Gopi

Anamika MJ

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