Kerala Assembly Election Dispute Over Religious Symbol Usage

The case of K. Babu v. M. Swaraj and others revolved around an election petition challenging the election results of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. The core issue in contention was whether the election petition against the appellant was liable to be dismissed at the threshold.

The appellant, K. Babu, was declared elected from the 081-Tripunithura Legislative Assembly Constituency on May 2, 2021, securing 992 votes more than his closest opponent, the first respondent, M. Swaraj. An election petition was subsequently filed before the Kerala High Court under various sections of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, seeking to declare the election void due to alleged corrupt practices.

Petitioner’s Arguments

The petitioner, M. Swaraj, contended that the election of K. Babu was vitiated by corrupt practices. The primary allegations included:

• Use of religious symbols in election materials, violating Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• Distribution of slips featuring the image of Lord Ayyappa along with an appeal to vote for the appellant.
• Irregularities in the filing of nomination and election petition copies not being attested properly.

Respondent’s Arguments

The appellant, K. Babu, raised objections, arguing that:

• The election petition was liable for dismissal under Section 86 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, for non-compliance with Section 81.
• Sufficient copies of the election petition were not filed as required under Rule 212 of the Kerala High Court Rules, 1971.
• The copy of the petition furnished to him was not a true copy of the petition filed.

Judgment and Court’s Observations

The Kerala High Court ruled that:

• The defects pointed out by the appellant did not pertain to Section 81(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, but only to procedural lapses under Rule 212 of the Kerala High Court Rules, 1971.
• The lapses were not substantial enough to warrant dismissal of the election petition.
• The use of Lord Ayyappa’s image in campaign materials constituted a corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• Since a prima facie case was made out, the election petition was allowed to proceed.

Supreme Court’s Decision

On appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the Kerala High Court’s decision, stating:

• Non-compliance with Section 83 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, was not fatal to the election petition.
• The defects pointed out by the appellant did not warrant rejection of the petition at the threshold.
• The allegations regarding use of a religious symbol required a full trial.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, vacated the interim order, and allowed the trial to proceed.

Petitioner Name: M. Swaraj.
Respondent Name: K. Babu.
Judgment By: Justice Aniruddha Bose, Justice Sanjay Kumar.
Place Of Incident: Kerala.
Judgment Date: 12-02-2024.

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