Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
A BJP councillor of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, who is in preventive detention under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), took his oath of office from inside the Viyyur Central Prison on July 14, Tuesday. The oath was administered after securing permission from the Kerala High Court.
R Sugathan, councillor representing the Vazhottukonam ward, administered the oath in jail as his earlier swearing-in was declared invalid. The new ceremony became necessary after 21 BJP councillors were directed to retake their oath over procedural violations during the corporation's original swearing-in. Many of them had invoked local deities etc during their oath, invalidating their oath.
Sugathan had sought bail to participate in the oath-taking along with the other BJP councillors. However, the request could not be accommodated as he was under preventive detention under KAAPA. Following this, the High Court permitted the oath to be administered inside the prison.
Sugathan is currently lodged in Viyyur Central Prison after the KAAPA Advisory Board on July 8 upheld his six-month preventive detention. The board rejected his plea to revoke the detention order, confirming that he would remain in custody for the full detention period.
He was arrested on June 10 after absconding for weeks in connection with an alleged assault during a temple festival held in March. Police had registered a case accusing him of attacking a man during the festival. Officers claimed they had to fire warning shots while arresting him after a group allegedly attempted to obstruct the operation.
The BJP councillor is listed in the Vattiyurkavu police's rowdy sheet and faces multiple criminal cases, including an attempt to murder case. Police records show that 19 cases have been registered against him over the years at the Vattiyurkavu and Nedumangad police stations.
His detention had triggered a political row in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, with the Opposition accusing the BJP-led council of delaying meetings to prevent his disqualification. Sugathan has already missed two council meetings while in custody, and Opposition councillors had sought a special meeting to discuss the issue, but the request was not accepted by the mayor.