Kochi: The Kerala High Court, while declaring void the election of Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate A Raja from the reserved Devikulam Assembly constituency in Idukki district, has rejected his claims that his parents didn’t get converted to Christianity and that his wife is a Hindu.
The Devikulam constituency is reserved for Scheduled Caste among Hindus and Raja’s claim is that his parents were Hindus and hence he was eligible to contest.
However, the court examined the family and baptism registers of the Kundala Estate CSI Church, as well as witness accounts while pronouncing the verdict.
In its order yesterday, the court declared that Raja is not a member of ‘Hindu Parayan’ within the state of Kerala and thus not qualified to contest from the constituency.
Justice P Somarajan inspected the registers and said the names and other details of Raja’s parents were redacted with new ones. The register having the burial details of his mother, who died in 2016, too was edited.
Earlier, Raja contended that his parents were Hindus and did not receive baptism. He further claimed his wife, Shiny Priya, is a Hindu and not a CSI member. Their marriage was held at his house, he cited.
However, D Kumar, the defeated United Democratic Front candidate, while challenging the election of Raja, argued that the latter’s paternal grandparents had migrated to Idukki in Kerala from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu after 1951. His parents Antony and Esther got converted to Christianity and received baptism from the CSI Church in 1992. Also, his mother, Esther, was buried in the CSI Church following her demise in 2016.
Kumar, also said in his petition that it was the same pastor who baptized both him and his parents. Raja married CSI member Shiny Priya as per Christian tradition, and the marriage was solemnized by the same pastor.
But Raja’s claim was that his paternal grandparents started residing in former Travancore before 1950. They had no children for a long time and they were finally blessed with a baby boy after offering prayers at a nearby church. Hence, they named the child Antony. He contended that his mother’s original name was not Esther but Easwari and that his parents had not converted to Christianity.
However, the court stated that Raja failed to prove that his ancestors migrated to Kerala before the 1950 rule and that he was not a member of ‘Hindu Parayan’ caste within the state of Kerala. Hence, he was not qualified to be chosen from the reserved constituency, it made clear.
Court points out marriage attire
While Raja claimed his marriage was as per the Hindu tradition, the court pointed out that the available photos of his marriage ceremony showed otherwise. To the court’s question that whether prayers from the Bible were offered at the time of marriage, Raja’s reply was that he couldn’t recollect the same. He further claimed that the photographer hadn’t given any photo or album.
He also couldn’t answer the court questions as to who handed over the garland along with ‘Thali’ and who had attended the ceremony, a priest or a pastor?
When the court enquired whether a Bible scripture was read at his wedding, he replied that he couldn't recollect the details.
Raja donning an overcoat clearly pointed out the tradition under which the marriage was held. The attire of his wife was that of a Christian bride. Also, the presence of pastor backed the claim of the petitioner, the court stated.
