Supreme Court Sets Aside Kerala HC Judgment Which Anulled Election Of CPI(M) MLA A Raja

The Supreme Court today(May 6) set aside the Kerala High Court's judgment, which set aside the election of CPI(M) MLA A Raja in the 2021 Legislative Assembly elections.A bench comprising Justice AS Oka and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah allowed the appeal filed by Raja against the the March 23, 2023 order of the Kerala High Court which annulled his elections on ground that he was not a member of the 'Hindu Parayan' within the State of Kerala and therefore, he was not qualified to contest elections from Devikulam Assembly constituency that had been reserved for Scheduled Caste among Hindus. Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Amanullah said that Raja will be entitled to all benefits as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and dismissed the election petition filed by rival candidate D Kumar."The impugned judgment rendered by the High Court is set aside and the election petition stands dismissed. The appellant is entitled to all consequential benefits as a member of the legislative assembly for the entire period ," Justice Amanullah stated. Last year, on September 26, the Court reserved its judgment. During the hearings, the Court questioned why the caste certificate of A. Raja was not challenged before the High Court. Consequently, it also raised the issue as to how the High Court annulled the elections when it did not go into the validity of the caste certificate. On April 29, 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the order of the Kerala High Court and allowed Raja to participate in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly. However, he would not be entitled to vote on any motion and shall not be entitled to receive any allowance or monetary benefits as a member of the Legislative Assembly.Before the High Court, D. Kumar challenged Raja's election for violating Section 5 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. As per Section 5 of the Act of 1951, to be able to contest or fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly reserved for the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, such person has to be a member of any of the Scheduled Caste or Tribe in that State, and such person also has to be elected for any Assembly Constituency in that State.It was contended that Raja's paternal grandparents were residents of Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, who had migrated to Kerala in 1951, and his parents had been baptized by the CSI Church in 1992, and that the respondent himself was a baptized Christian, who had married as per Christian religious rites.It was argued that the objection raised by the petitioner before the Returning Officer against the acceptance of nomination was rejected without assigning any valid reason, and the respondent was declared elected by a margin of 7848 votes after the election.Contrary to the claim that he was a member of the 'Hindu Parayan' community, it was argued by the petitioner that Hindu Parayan is a scheduled caste with the State of Tamil Nadu in Part XVI of the Schedule to the Constitution (Schedule Castes) Order, 1950.Raja in response argued that he belonged to the Hindu Parayan Community in the State of Kerala. He averred that as his grandparents had been issueless for a long period, they offered prayer in a nearby church, resulting in his father being given a Christian name. He further contended that his mother's name was not Esther but Easwari and that both his parents were Hindus who had never converted to Christianity. He also disputed the allegations made for his Baptism, and that he had married his wife as per Christian religious rites.Kerala High Court's findingsContrary to Raja's claim that his grandparents were residents of Kerala as of the date of commencement of the Presidential Order, 1950, the High Court had observed that the documents on record did not indicate an actual migration of Raja's grandparents to Kerala with all its intent, before the commencement of the Order.The Court had also perused the Family Register, Baptism Register, and Burial Register kept by CSI Church, Kundala, Kerala and noted that there had been certain overwritings, corrections, and erasure of earlier entries. It also observed that the photographs of Raja's wedding resembled that of a Christian marriage. The High Court remarked: "All these would sufficiently show that the respondent was actually professing Christianity at the time when he had submitted his nomination and converted to Christianity long before its submission. As such, after the conversion, he cannot claim as a member of Hindu religion.” The high court had observed in its March 2023 order."Also from the judgment- Mere Performance Of Another Religious Ritual Doesn't Mean Giving Up Of One's Own Religion : Supreme CourtCase details: A. RAJA v. D. KUMAR| C.A. No. 2758/2023Citation : 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 537Click Here To Read OrderAppearances: Senior Advocate V. Giri (A Raja) and Senior Advocate Narender Hooda (D. Kumar)

Supreme Court Sets Aside Kerala HC Judgment Which Anulled Election Of CPI(M) MLA A Raja

Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

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