The Kerala High Court granted bail to 5 persons accused of assaulting a woman Left Democratic Front (LDF) Councillor of Koothattukulam Nagara Sabha and emphasized that the proper manner by which a person is to be defeated in a democratic set-up is through the ballot papers and not by using weapons or by committing vandalism.

The High Court was considering a bail application filed by the petitioners accused of assaulting a woman Concilor of Left Democratic Front (LDF) of Koothattukulam Nagara Sabha.

Quoting the words of the Former President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln, the Single Bench of Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan said, “If the elected representative wants to change his policy or political affiliation, he has to resign and face the mandate of the people again. That is the moral side of democracy…But an elected representative going against the will of the people should not be confronted physically by attacking that representative. The people can show their power through their ballot papers.”

Advocate V. John Sebastian Ralph represented the Petitioners while Senior Public Prosecutor Noushad K A represented the Respondents.

Factual Background

The defacto complainant is one of the 13 Left Democratic Front (LDF) Councillors of Koothattukulam Nagara Sabha. When the de facto complainant reached the Nagara Sabha Office to attend the no-confidence motion moved by the United Democratic Front (UDF), the petitioners and a few other identifiable persons assaulted her and thus she sustained an injury on her knee and pain in her abdomen. It was also alleged that the accused persons pulled her saree and thereby outraged her modesty. This is how the case came to be registered against the Petitioners alleging offences punishable under Sections 115(2), 126, 74, 76, 189, 191 and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Arguments

The counsel for the petitioners submitted that Koothattukulam Nagara Sabha has 25 councillors. Among them 13 are from LDF, 11 are from UDF and 1 is independent. The independent councillor is supporting UDF and the Nagara Sabha is led by LDF with the majority of one seat; i.e., at 13:12.

It was submitted that one of the LDF councillors, Kala Raju, decided to vote in favour of the no-confidence motion being moved by UDF which would bring a 13:12 situation in favour of the UDF. Knowing this, the LDF people forcefully abducted the aforementioned Kala Raju and prevented her from voting.It was submitted that the case was registered at the instance of LDF supporters. As per the petitioners, the ingredients of the said Section were not attracted.

Reasoning

The Bench, at the outset, said, “In this case, both sides are trying to take the law into their own hands instead of approaching the people in a democratic manner. As I mentioned earlier, the democracy in our country is leading to conflict, disruptions and vandalism on the streets. As I mentioned earlier, the proper manner by which a person is to be defeated in a democratic set-up is through the ballot papers and not by using weapons or by committing vandalism.”

The Bench noted that a person who was elected with the support of LDF workers suddenly changed her political affiliation to another party forgetting the moral side of the democratic principles. In such a situation, there may be some embarrassment to the LDF workers. That may be the reason for these two crimes. “Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, I think the petitioners can be released on bail”, the Bench said.

Reiterating the settled principle bail is the rule and the jail is the exception and referring to the judgments of the Apex Court in Chidambaram. P v Directorate of Enforcement (2019) and Siddharth v State of Uttar Pradesh and Another (2021), the Bench granted bail to the Petitioners by imposing stringent conditions.

Cause Title: K.R. Jayakumar & Ors v. State Of Kerala (Neutral Citation: 2025:KER:7072)

Appearance:

Petitioners: Advocate V. John Sebastian Ralph, Ralph Reti John, Vishnu Chandran, Giridhar Krishna Kumar, Geethu T.A., Mary Greeshma, Liz Johny Krishnapriya Sreekumar

Respondent: Senior Public Prosecutor Noushad K A

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Kerala High CourtJustice PV KunhikrishnanBharatiya Nyay Sanhita

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.