The Kerala High Court in a recent hearing noted that legislators who seek to change their political affiliation must resign and face people’s mandate again. The observation was made in connection with the assault of a councillor who had changed her political stance, prompting her party members to allegedly abduct her. The court emphasised that democracy allows for political shifts through ballot papers, not violence, and one must resort to violence against an elected representative who had shifted their party allegiance.
“If an elected representative changes their policy or affiliation, they must resign and face the people’s mandate again. This is the moral side of democracy. Otherwise, it’s a unilateral withdrawal from the people’s bond, an insult to their will. The people can show their will in the next election by supporting or defeating them. This is democracy’s beauty,” the Kerala HC noted.
Kala Raju, an LDF Councillor, was allegedly abducted by her party members on January 18 for voting in favour of the no-confidence motion moved by the UDF. To escape, the present assault case is registered against UDF members by LDF workers as a counter-attack.
The court stated that defeating someone in a democratic setup is through ballot papers, not weapons or vandalism. Both sides are trying to take the law into their own hands instead of approaching the people democratically, it said.
The allegation against the five petitioners is that they assaulted the complainant when she reached the Nagara Sabha Office to attend the no-confidence motion, causing her injuries. They also allegedly pulled her saree and outraged her modesty.
Koothattukulam Nagara Sabha is now governed by the LDF, with a one-seat majority. If Kala Raju votes in favour of the UDF’s motion, the LDF will lose power. This is why she was allegedly abducted by her party workers. The present crime is registered at their instance at Koothattukulam Police Station for offences under Sections 115(2), 126, 74, 76, 189, 191, and 190 of the BNS.
The court ruled that elected representatives must face the people’s verdict in the next election if they change their political affiliation. Physical attacks on such representatives are not allowed. The Court noted that these crimes occurred due to the embarrassment of LDF workers because their Councillor changed her political affiliation. Therefore, the bail application was allowed.
