Kochi: A CPM candidate has moved court against Kalamassery Municipality Chairperson Jamal Manakkadan, seeking to unseat the Congress leader over allegations of election fraud. In a petition filed before the Ernakulam Munsiff's Court, petitioner K Mahesh, who lost the contest in Ward 40, Vattekunnam, to Manakkadan by a mere 17 votes, has demanded that Manakkadan's election be declared void due to an alleged false declaration about his educational qualifications and financial assets in the election nomination affidavit.

The petition, accessed by Onmanorama, alleged that in his 2025 election nomination paper, Manakkadan solemnly affirmed in Form No 2(a) that his highest educational qualification was a "Bachelor of Arts (Economics)" obtained in 1984 from St Pauls' College, Kalamassery.

Mahesh's petition dismissed this declaration as "absolutely false, misleading, and fabricated". It asserted that Manakkadan "never studied in St Pauls' College... during the academic years 1981-82, 1982-83, and 1983-84", which are required for the degree course. Instead, the petition claimed he "failed to secure the requisite marks to pass the Pre-Degree examination" after his SSLC.

To prove the deception, the petition cited Manakkadan's own sworn affidavit from the 2010 local body elections, where he listed his qualification as "BA (not completed)”. The petition argued that this contradiction exposes that he "deliberately misdescribed and manipulated his educational qualifications... according to his whims and fancies" to mislead voters.

The suit also questioned the legitimacy of the Chairperson's wealth. While Manakkadan consistently described his occupation as a "Social Worker" and admits he is not employed in any "service, trade, profession, or business," the petition flags a "substantial and progressive increase" in his assets over successive elections.

The petition, filed by Adv Shaji Chirayath on behalf of Mahesh, contended that declaring income and assets of considerable magnitude, without disclosing any lawful or identifiable source is "inherently improbable and suspicious". It alleged this constitutes a "corrupt practice" intended to "project an inflated and misleading image of financial capacity".

Invoking Sections 166 and 167 of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, the petition argued the Returning Officer "improperly accepted" the nomination despite these patent defects.

The petition stated that false disclosures violate the voter's fundamental "Right to Know", a principle upheld by the Supreme Court. Citing the narrow victory margin, the petition claimed the result was "materially affected" by these lies.

"Had the nomination of the 1st Respondent [Manakkadan] been rejected at the scrutiny stage, or had the electorate been apprised of the true facts, the outcome of the election would have been materially different," said the petition.

Mahesh has prayed in the court to declare that the election of Manakkadan is void and to either declare him the winner or order a fresh election. The court will consider his petition on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, Manakkadan said it was a politically motivated case. "I don't want to comment on the issue further since the court is about to consider the case," Manakkadan told Onmanorama.