Kerala High Court lets jailed BJP councillor oath in jail

In an unprecedented ceremony, a jailed BJP councillor was sworn into office inside a prison in Kerala on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, following a directive from the state's High Court. R. Sugathan, an elected member of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, took his oath at Viyyur Central Jail in Thrissur after the court ruled that his preventive detention should not nullify the electorate's mandate.

The ceremony took place at approximately 11 a.m. in the jail's library hall, with Thiruvananthapuram Mayor V.V. Rajesh administering the oath. Sugathan repeated the statutory pledge in the name of God, officially assuming his position as councillor for the Vazhottukonam ward. The event, which lasted only a few minutes, was attended by a limited number of corporation officials and accredited media personnel, as arranged by the jail superintendent under court orders.

This development marks the first instance in Kerala's history of a local body representative being sworn in from inside a prison. It was the culmination of a legal process that began on June 24, when the Kerala High Court invalidated the initial oaths of 20 BJP councillors, including Sugathan, for not conforming to the prescribed...