The Kerala High Court on Friday quashed the State Election Commission’s order disqualifying six former UDF panchayat members of Keerampara in Ernakulam district on the ground of defection.
Justice A.V. Ramakrisha Pillai passed the judgment while allowing the writ petitions filed by the members challenging the commission’s order. The commission’s order came on a petition filed by Lizy Valsalan, who was dislodged from the post of president in a no-confidence motion moved by LDF members. According to her, Suja Salim, Sindhu Rajappan, Binoy Thomas, K.P. Varkey, M.P. Chandran and Sali Varghese, all UDF members, had voted in favour of the no-confidence motion, defying the directives of the UDF leaders.
Quashing the Election Commission’s order, the judge said the ousted president had no case that the petitioners had sought the support of the LDF Opposition members to get the no-confidence motion passed. The conduct of the petitioners would have amounted to defection if the support of the opposition LDF members had been sought by the petitioners.
The LDF members may have voted in favour of the no-confidence motion. That did not mean that the petitioners had solicited the support of the LDF members, the court observed.
The court also ordered restoration of the petitioners’ membership.
