New Delhi, May 6 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Tuesday restored the 2021 election win of CPM leader A Raja from a Kerala seat reserved for scheduled castes and said in the age of intrusive media, where public figures, including judges, politicians and bureaucrats were under public gaze, it was not easy to hide one’s religion or caste.
A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra allowed Raja’s appeal against the March 23, 2023 order of the Kerala high court cancelling his election.
Congress leader D Kumar, who was the runner-up in the 2021 assembly polls, alleged Raja was not qualified to contest the Devikulam assembly reserved seat in Idukki district for he was Christian.
“The impugned judgment rendered by the high court is set aside, the election petition shall stand dismissed. The appellant is entitled to all consequential benefits as a member of the legislative assembly for the entire period from the date of oath,” the bench held.
Referring to the school records of Raja’s children, the top court said they belonged to the Hindu Parayan caste.
“In the present time, which is a day and age of intrusive media, including social media, where public figures, including Judges, politicians and bureaucrats are under constant public gaze, it is not easy to hide one’s religion or caste,” the bench said.
The top court went on, “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 bench saw no dispute in the fact that Raja’s grandparents belonged to the Hindu Parayan caste in the erstwhile State of Travancore-Cochin having migrated from the State of Tamil Nadu prior to 1950, indicating sufficient evidence brought on record to prove his claim.
The bench, as a result, rejected Kumar’s contention that Raja’s parents converted to Christianity and the entire family was baptised.
“In this regard, certain registers of the CSI Church were produced before the high court. However, from the evidence, it is also apparent that the entries in such registers were not very specific, inasmuch as the name of the appellant was not mentioned and other details with regard to the age of his siblings also did not match. Even some names of the siblings were different,” the bench said.
The top court said it couldn’t be held that Raja professed Christianity.
To prove his claim, he said a Hindu Parayan caste certificate was issued by Tahsildar, Devikulam.
The returning officer rightly rejected the objection by Kumar to the nomination paper filed by him, Raja added.
The CPM leader also claimed his parents never converted to Christianity; he was never baptised; his wife was a Hindu and his marriage was performed with Hindu rites, including lighting of a customary lamp and tying of a “thali” around his wife’s neck.
In his plea, Kumar alleged Raja was Christian, baptised at a CSI church in the hill district, and submitted a fake scheduled caste certificate.
Kumar, who lost to Raja with a 7,848-vote margin in the 2021 polls, claimed even Raja’s wife was Christian and they married the Christian religious way.
Agreeing with the contentions of the Congress leader, the high court said it was well evident from the evasive answers given by Raja on his marriage ceremony that there was a “conscious effort” on his part to conceal the truth.
The high court held Raja was professing Christianity at the time of submitting his nomination and converted to Christianity long before its submission.
“As such, after the conversion, he cannot claim to be a member of Hindu religion. On that score also, the Returning Officer ought to have rejected his nomination,” it said.
It pointed out an “utter failure” on the part of the CPI(M) leader to show and prove his grandparents migrated to Kerala prior to promulgation of the 1950 order by the President of India by which Hindu Parayans in Kerala were declared as a part of SC community.
