Kerala High Court on the case the respondent alleged to have defected by voluntarily giving up membership of the party under whose banner he was elected.
Title : DEEPAK K v. THE KERALA STATE ELECTION COMMISSION and others.
Decided on : 03.11.2023.
Case No. : WP(C) NO. 15253 / 2023
CORAM : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BECHU KURIAN THOMAS
Introduction
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.
Fact of the Case
Respondent, 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 order invoking this Court’s jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
Case Analysis and Judgement
It is felt essential to observe that defections by elected representatives have been a bane of the Indian democracy. Despite the anti-defection law, unscrupulous persons indulge in baleful acts of defection. The anti-defection law has not been able to curb the menace of defection effectively. Once an elected representative is found disqualified due to defection, the burden on the exchequer is immense due to the inevitable bye-elections. However, the person responsible for such nefarious activity is not affected seriously due to the nature of the orders that can be issued under the existing law. Considering the entire scenario, this Court has a wishful thinking that the time has come to contemplate on including stringent financial penalties for acts of defection.
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