Kerala High Court Monday set aside the election of five-time Congress MP from Kerala, Kodikunnil Suresh, on the ground that he was not entitled to contest from a reserved constituency as he does not belong to Scheduled Castes.
In a 160-page judgement, Justice G Sashidharan Nambiar allowed the election petition of the defeated Communist Party of India candidate R S Anil and two others who had challenged Suresh's election from the reserved
constituency of Mavelikkara in the south Indian state.
The court found that there were conflicting statements made by Suresh about his caste status. As per school records, he is a converted Christian
and was not entitled to the benefit of being a Scheduled Caste member.
His nomination should have been rejected by the Returning Officer on the ground that he was not a member of the Scheduled Caste and hence was not entitled to contest from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Caste, the court said.
Suresh, an All India Congress Committee Secretary who was first elected to the Lower House Lok Sabha in 1989 elections, was successful subsequently in 1991, 1996 and 1999 polls from Adoor in Kerala, a reserved constituency.
Adoor has ceased to be a Lok Sabha constituency after delimitation.
A law graduate, Suresh was defeated in 1998 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
The unseated MP said he will appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court.
He told reporters in New Delhi that his school leaving certificate had mentioned that his caste was SC and religion Christian, which may have been a mistake committed by his parents.
Suresh claimed he had rectified it by making a gazette notification about his status as a member belonging to Scheduled Caste in the Hindu community.
He alleged that the case was a "political conspiracy" by some rivals in his party and opposition parties. "I fought elections and won five times. There were no cases filed in court in this regard," he said.