[Defection law] When coalition party members act against coalition's interest, it equals to acting against own party: Kerala High Court

While hearing an election petition, the Kerala High Court recently made pertinent remarks on political coalitions (Boby Abraham v. Abraham and Ors.)..The Bench of Justice AM Mustaque said: “Acting against the interest of coalition by party members of the constituents of the coalition amounts to acting against their own party.”.The Court was hearing appeals against an order of the Election Commission declaring the petitioners "disqualified" from being members of a Grama Panchayat (Ranni-Pazhavangadi) and barring them from contesting elections to any local body for six years..The Bench was tasked with ascertaining the nature of the petitioners’ candidature. They had claimed that they were independents not bound by orders issued by a party ‘whip’..The complainant before the Election Commission had contended that the petitioners were elected with the support of parties forming a part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). He was aggrieved that the three members of the Grama Panchayat acted contrary to a whip issued by the LDF and voted against the LDF in a “no confidence motion”..Initially, in their evidence before the Election Commission, they had admitted to being nominees of political parties constituting the LDF. However, they deleted these admissions later..The Commission found them to have defected and, accordingly, disqualified them. The ground for defection was “voluntarily giving up membership of such political party”, as laid down in the Kerala Local Authorities (Disqualification of Defected Members) Rules, 2000..Defending this decision in proceedings before the High Court, the Standing Counsel for the Election Commission referred to Rule 3(2)(a) of the Rules and argued that a person who contested election as a candidate in support of a political party shall be treated as a member of that political party..Finding that there was a validly issued whip and that the petitioners were members of the political parties with whose support they were elected, the Court remarked:.“The moment they become disloyal to their own party, it amounts to a declaration that they have voluntarily given up the membership of such party...".Since they were found to have voluntarily given up membership of the parties that supported them by acting contrary to the party whip, they were deemed to have been disqualified by defection..On these terms, the appeals were dismissed..Read the Judgment here: