On Monday, The Kerala High Court cancelled the election of CPI(M) MLA, A Raja, from the reserved Devikulam seat of the Idukki district. This decision was taken by the court after a petition was filed by Congress leader D Kumar, the runner-up in the 2021 assembly polls. Kumar was defeated by Raja in the polls by a margin of 7848 votes. As per Kumar, A Raja is not eligible to contest the Devikulam seat reserved for an SC (Scheduled Caste) candidate.
Kumar’s petition stated that A Raja is a Christian, who had been baptized, and had produced a fake certificate to showcase that he belongs in the SC community. A Raja’s Christian faith was corroborated by the evidence which was produced in the court, including the proof of the solemnization of his marriage, which had taken place in a church.
But interestingly, today, the Kerala High Court issued an interim stay on its order cancelling the election result, providing temporary relief to A Raja. A time period of 10 days has been given to Raja for him to approach the Supreme Court. This stay order has been issued by the same bench which set aside the election, and the High Court has now stated that Raja will not have voting rights as an MLA in the assembly, and will not accept any legislative privileges and benefits.
Soon after the stay order was issued, petitioner D Kumar of the Congress approached the apex court of the country to defer the order. Kumar stated that the Kerala High Court issued the stay order without hearing his side.
