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Ram Pal Singh v. The State of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.

Special Leave Petition (Civil) · 2018 INSC 407Decided 24 Apr 2018
Special Leave Petition (Civil) No. 31990 of 2017
Justice Madan B. Lokur · Justice Deepak Gupta

Background

Ram Pal Singh was elected as Pramukh (chairperson) of a Kshettra Panchayat (a block-level rural council) in Uttar Pradesh in 2016. In 2017, a no-confidence motion was moved against him, signed by 39 of the council's 63 elected members, including 13 members who had allegedly not yet taken their oath of office. Singh argued that because those 13 members had not taken the oath, they should not count as valid signatories, which would drop the motion below the legally required threshold of more than half the members and make it invalid.

Decision Breakdown

The Court first resolved a factual dispute and concluded, based on official records, that all 63 elected members had in fact taken their oath of office on the relevant date, so the premise of Singh's argument did not even arise on the facts. Going further into the legal question, Justice Lokur held that an elected member who has not taken the oath of office still remains a "member" and can validly sign a no-confidence motion, since nothing in the law strips an unsworn member of that status; Justice Gupta agreed the petition should be dismissed on the facts but disagreed with this specific point of law, reasoning that a member who cannot vote on a no-confidence motion (because they haven't taken the oath) logically also should not be allowed to sign one. Both judges agreed, however, that oath-taking is a solemn constitutional obligation that deserves more serious, clearly defined legal consequences than it currently carries. The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed Ram Pal Singh's petition and vacated the interim orders protecting him, meaning the no-confidence motion against him was valid.

Lesson Learnt

Taking an oath of office is treated as a serious legal requirement for elected representatives, but failing to take it (at least under the law considered here) does not automatically remove someone's status as a validly elected member, though judges can, and here did, disagree on exactly which activities an un-sworn member may still take part in.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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