Kerala HC urges curbs on 500-guest plan for cabinet's swearing-in; asks if it's necessary

In the latest development, the Kerala High Court has disposed off a petition that challenged the physical swearing-in ceremony of CM-elect Pinarayi Vijayan's new cabinet which is scheduled to take place on May 20. A bench comprising Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly disposed off the petition after laying down certain conditions relating to adherence of COVID-19 norms and partly restricting the participation of guests in the event. Issuing the order on Wednesday, the Kerala HC directed political parties to take a call on whether all MLAs were required to be physically present for the oath-taking ceremony and noted that the respective spouses & relatives of the MLAs, except the designated ministers, were not required to participate in the event, adding that they could view it virtually from their residences. 

Kerala HC asks whether attendance of 500 guests is necessary

The order further stated that only government officials whose participation was necessary would be permitted to attend the swearing-in ceremony. The HC bench also asked the state govt to consider the participation of special invitees in the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic and noted that the direction also applied to the govt's special invitees including those who had contributed to the CM's COVID relief fund. Calling the Kerala government a 'forerunner' in the battle against COVID, the Kerala High Court noted that states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had conducted the oath-taking ceremony with reduced participants and said that the Kerala govt should restrict the number to the maximum to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, CM-elect Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday noted that the lockdown and triple lockdown had helped in reducing the number of COVID cases in the state. The CM-elect claimed that the state's total positivity rate (TPR) had also reduced. Vijayan urged the public to remain vigilant and noted that the restrictions could only be eased when the number of positive cases go down. However, there was no mention of the physical swearing-in ceremony for which the curfew rule has been amended to allow 500 guests to participate in the event. 

PIL filed in SC challenging swearing-in ceremony

On Tuesday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the LDF government's physical function. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed with the top court has alleged that the function can result in putting the health of people in 'jeopardy'. Citing the triple lockdown enforced in the state to curb the COVID-19 spread, the petition sought to call off the physical swearing-in ceremony or limit the attendance as nearly 500 persons are expected to be present in Thiruvananthapuram for the occasion. 

Labelling the move of conducting a public swearing-in ceremony as a 'reckless act', the petitioner has said that the Government of Kerala is violating the very same law that it 'forcibly' enforces on the public. To facilitate the swearing-in ceremony at the Thiruvananthapuram Central Stadium, the state government on May 20 passed an order allowing 500 persons to attend the function provided they produce a negative RTPCR result of a certificate of having taken two doses of COVID vaccination. It is unknown at this point what happens to the SC petition now that the Kerala HC has heard the matter.

Kerala's COVID situation

Kerala registered 32,762 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, pushing the infection count to 22,03,413, while the toll mounted to 6,724 with 112 more deaths, the state government said. As many as 48,413 persons have been cured, taking the total recoveries to 18,94,518, while 3,31,860 are undergoing treatment for the infection, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here. In the last 24 hours,1,40,545 samples were tested and the Test Positivity Rate (TPR) was 23.3 per cent. So far 1,82,89,940 samples have been tested.