HC ORDER STAYED THAT ANNULED MLA’S ELECTION FROM RESERVED CONSTITUENCY
The Supreme Court in the case A Raja V D Kumar observed and has stayed the order of the Kerala High Court that had declared the election of CPI(M) MLA A. Raja from Devikulam reserved constituency as void, which being on the ground that the practising Christian could not be a member of Scheduled Caste.
In the present case, MLA A. Raja had approached the Apex Court wherein challenging the order of Kerala High Court for declaring his election to the assembly as void. Therefore, the Apex Court in the case granted temporary relief to MLA, wherein imposing the condition that he could not vote on any motion in the Legislative Assembly or receive any allowances or monetary benefits that are typically being given to Member of Legislative Assembles, MLA.
The division bench comprising of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sudhanshu
Dhulia in the case observed and has issued the following conditions with regards to Raja: The appellant in the case shall be entitled to participate in the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly;
However, the applicant in the case shall not be entitled to vote on any motion in the Legislative Assembly. Therefore, the apploicant shall not be entitled to vote in his capacity as the Member of the Legislative Assembly on through any other matter;
The applicant in the case shall not be entitled to receive any allowance or any monetary benefits in any other form which is being admissible to a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
The counsel, Senior Advocate K. V. Viswanathan appeared for MLA A. Raja before the Supreme Court.
Therefore, on March 20, 2023, the Kerala High Court had annulled the CPM Member of Legislative Assembly election wherein stating that he not being the member of ‘Hindu Parayan’ within the State of Kerala and thus the same is not qualified to be chosen to fill the Devikulam Assembly constituency that had been reserved for Scheduled Caste among Hindus.
The said order is passed by the High Court in a election plea moved by D. Kumar, in 2020 wherein challenging the election of Raja’s on the ground that the constituency was being reserved for Scheduled Caste among Hindus and the latter was not a person who belongs to Scheduled Caste among Hindus within the State of Kerala, but was a Christian, wherein violating Section 5 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951.
Therefore, the High Court in its order of March 23 observed that all these would sufficiently show that the respondent was actually professing Christianity at the time when it has been submitted by him his nomination and converted to Christianity long before its submission. As such, after the conversion, it cannot be claimed by him as a member of Hindu religion.