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Hindustan Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Observing rituals of a religion doesn't mean professing it: SC restores election of MLA
A person observing or performing rituals of a particular religion does not mean they 'profess' that faith, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, as it restored the membership of a Kerala CPI(M) legislator whose election from a Scheduled Caste constituency was questioned. A Raja, who was elected as an MLA from the Devikulam constituency in 2021, challenged the March 2023 order of the Kerala high court setting aside his election (HT) A Raja, who was elected as an MLA from the Devikulam constituency in 2021, challenged the March 2023 order of the Kerala high court setting aside his election. Congress leader D Kumar –– who finished second in the election –– had challenged Raja's victory, saying he was not entitled to contest from a reserved constituency on the grounds that he was baptised into the Christian faith by his parents when he was a minor. The three-judge bench of justices AS Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and AG Masih on Tuesday set aside the HC order, concluding that the CPI(M) leader was a member of the Hindu Parayan caste. The apex court held that in an election petition, the validity of the caste certificate issued to Raja cannot be gone into as a challenge to the same is maintainable only under the statute governing issuance of such a certificate. 'Mere observance/performance of a ritual of/associated with any religion does not ipso facto and necessarily mean that the person 'professes' that religion. That is why the term used in the 1950 Presidential Order is 'professes', signifying that a person although born in a particular religion can profess another religion, inter alia, by practising the rituals of that other religion as the basic tenets of his beliefs and lifestyle,' the bench said in its order. The top court restored Raja's membership with all consequential benefits as it discarded all the evidence put up by Congress leaded Kumar to be vague and unreliable. 'The production of some photographs or some rituals which may have been performed by the appellant, nay, even assuming they were actually performed by the appellant, at the cost of repetition, can, in no manner, take the place of evidence, especially when matters of the like herein are being considered by the courts,' the court observed.
India Gazette
06-05-2025
- Politics
- India Gazette
Supreme Court reinstates A. Raja as Devikulam MLA, overturns Kerala HC verdict
ANI 06 May 2025, 22:52 GMT+10 New Delhi [India], May 6 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday has set-aside the Kerala High Court's decision to invalidate the 2021 election of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M) Devikulam MLA , A Raja from Devikulam constituency in Kerala. A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra upheld A. Raja's election and dismissed the election petition filed against him. The bench also granted him all consequential benefits as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly which the CPI (M) leader had lost due to the cancellation of his election by the High Court. The Kerala High Court had in March, 2023 held A. Raja's election from Devikulam in the 2021 State assembly elections as void, by ruling that the seat in the concerned constituency had been reserved for a Schedule Caste (SC) candidate. The High Court had reasoned that since A. Raja was professing Christianity at the time, his election to a seat reserved for an SC candidate was invalid as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Raja's election had been challenged by D. Kumar, the Congress candidate from the concerned constituency. Raja had challenged the High Court's decision by moving the top-court. On Tuesday, the Court allowed Raja's appeal and reinstated him as an MLA. (ANI)
United News of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- United News of India
SC reinstates CPI(M) MLA A Raja, sets aside Kerala HC order
New Delhi, May 6 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the Kerala High Court's decision that had annulled the election of CPI(M) legislator A Raja from the Devikulam Assembly constituency in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections. A bench comprising justices AS Oka and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah allowed the appeal filed by Raja challenging the March 23, 2023 judgment of the Kerala High Court, which had held that Raja was not eligible to contest from the Scheduled Caste-reserved seat as he was allegedly not a member of the 'Hindu Parayan' community within the state of Kerala. Pronouncing the verdict, Justice Amanullah stated, "The judgment rendered by the High Court is set aside and the election petition stands dismissed. The appellant is entitled to all consequential benefits as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the entire period." The detailed judgment is awaited. The Kerala High Court had ruled in favour of rival candidate D Kumar, who alleged that Raja was ineligible under Section 5 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which mandates that a candidate for a reserved constituency must belong to a Scheduled Caste within the state concerned. Kumar contended that Raja's paternal lineage traced back to Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, and alleged that his family had converted to Christianity citing church baptism records, Christian-style marriage photos, and family registers maintained by the CSI Church in Kundala, Kerala. The High Court found discrepancies and overwriting in church records and held that Raja had converted to Christianity and was therefore not entitled to contest from a Hindu Scheduled Caste seat. Raja, in his defense, maintained that he belongs to the Hindu Parayan community of Kerala, that his parents were Hindus, and that no conversion had occurred. He also disputed the validity of the High Court's inferences from church records and marriage photographs, asserting they were misinterpreted. During the Supreme Court hearings, the bench had questioned why Raja's caste certificate had not been directly challenged, and whether the High Court had overstepped in invalidating the election without first adjudicating the validity of that certificate. On April 29, 2023, the apex court had stayed the High Court's judgment, allowing Raja to participate in the Assembly proceedings, albeit without voting rights or monetary benefits, until a final decision was reached. With Tuesday's verdict, those restrictions are lifted, and Raja stands fully reinstated as the elected MLA from Devikulam, entitled to all privileges and benefits of office. UNI SNG PRS
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Entitled to all consequential benefits': Supreme Court upholds Kerala CPI(M) MLA A Raja's 2021 election from reserved seat
The Supreme Court Tuesday set aside the Kerala High Court order, which declared as void the election of Kerala CPI(M) legislator A Raja, saying he was a converted Christian and could not have contested from the seat reserved for the Scheduled Caste category. A bench of Justices A S Oka, Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and A G Masih granted the relief while hearing Raja's appeal challenging the March 23, 2023, order of the Kerala High Court. Raja had won from the Devikulam Assembly constituency, an SC reserved seat, in Kerala's Idukki district in 2021. 'The impugned judgment rendered by the High Court is set aside, and the election petition stands dismissed. The appellant is entitled to all consequential benefits as a member of the Legislative Assembly for the entire period,' Justice Amanullah said while reading from the judgment. The Kerala High Court, which examined witness testimonies and other documentary evidence, said in 2023 that Raja was not a member of the 'Hindu Parayan' community within the state, but was instead professing Christianity. 'All these would sufficiently show that the respondent was actually professing Christianity at the time when he had submitted his nomination and converted to Christianity long before its submission. As such, after the conversion, he cannot claim as a member of the Hindu religion. On that score also, the Returning Officer ought to have rejected his nomination,' the High Court had said. 'In short, on both the grounds, it is clear that the respondent is not a member of 'Hindu Parayan' within the State of Kerala and not qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Kerala reserved for Scheduled Caste – the Legislative Assembly Seat of 088 Devikulam Legislative Constituency and hence the election of respondent as the returned candidate for the said Constituency (088 Devikulam Legislative Constituency) in the year 2021 (06/04/2021) is declared void under Section 98 of Representation of People Act, 1951,' the court added.
Mint
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Viral Video: Close shave for DMK MP A Raja after stage light crashes during his speech in Tamil Nadu
Viral Video: DMK MP A Raja had escaped unhurt on 4 May when a stage light installed near the dias from where he was speaking collapsed on his microphone during an event in Tamil Nadu's Mayiladuthurai. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media. The event was organised by the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) to celebrate Chief Minister MK Stalin's birthday and the party's legal victory in the Governor issue, news reports said. However, the matter took a dramatic turn when the heavy stage light mounted on a steel rod toppled due to strong winds while Raja, former union minister, was delivering a speech. (This is a developing story. Check back for updates) First Published: 5 May 2025, 09:53 AM IST
