JANCY CHANDY Vs. JOSE PUTHENKALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Politics without principle is one of the seven capital sins to be deprecated, according to the Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Political defection is one of the grave vices in that group. In the statement of objects and reasons for the Fifty-second Amendment to the Constitution introducing Tenth Schedule in order to prevent frequent political defects, it is stated as follows:

(2.) The Kerala Local Authorities (Disqualification of Defected Members) Rules 2000 have been promulgated under Section 7 of the Act. Rule 4 provides for the procedure in the matter of giving direction by authorised person to the members concerned. The Rule reads as follows:

(3.) Now the short facts. The appellants are the respondents in the respective Writ Petitions. In the year 2000, the appellants along with the party respondents were elected from different wards of Kadutaruthy Grama Panchayat. There was a coalition of various political parties formed as United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Kerala Congress (M) was one of the political parties in the coalition. The appellants and the party respondent contested the election as members of the Kerala Congress (M). On 9-9-2003, it is alleged that meetings were held to elect the whip, both of the members belonging to the UDF coalition as well as of the Kerala Congress (M) and one Sri. E.M. Chacko was elected as whip. The matter was communicated to the Secretary of the Grama Panchayat on 12-9-2003. A no-confidence motion was moved by the opposition against the Vice President of the Panchayat. The same was scheduled for voting on 5-12-2003. Sri.E.M.Chacko on 26-11-2003, issued a direction to the appellants to vote against the motion. Discarding the direction the appellants voted in favour of the motion and the motion was carried. The first respondent filed three petitions before the Kerala State Election Commission seeking disqualification of the appellants. By common order dated 7-3-2005 the Commission dismissed all the petitions on the ground that the election of whip on 9-9-2003 was not fully established since the same had not been intimated immediately as stipulated under Rule 4(2). However, the Commission found that Sri. Chacko had issued a direction dated 26-11-2003 to the appellants, the same had been duly served on them and that the appellants had acted contrary to the direction. It was also found that the appellants had not voluntarily given up their membership in the political party. The order of the Election Commission was challenged in the Writ Petitions. By common judgment dated 30-8-2005, the learned single Judge set aside the order and declared that the appellants had incurred disqualification in terms of Section 3 of the Act and hence the appeals.