Karnataka HC junks plea against 46 MLAs’ oaths, says Buddha, Basava, Ambedkar are held as divine incarnates

Referring to the relevant Constitutional provision, the court stresses ‘the substance of prescription and not just the format’.

The PIL petition argued that the ministers and MLAs had violated Article 188 of the Constitution and should therefore be disqualified and fined for each day they remained in office. (File Photo)

The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition that alleged that nine ministers and 37 MLAs had violated the Constitution by taking the oath of office in an improper format.

A bench of Chief Justice Prasanna Varale and Justice Krishna Dixit, which passed the order on December 15, 2023, said, “It is not uncommon in the Indian society that the people and their elected representatives do show due deference to the sages, social reformers and tall figures who have contributed for the upliftment of society, more particularly, of downtrodden sections. At times, tall figures like Bhagawan Buddha, Jagajyothi Basaveshwara, Dr BR Ambedkar etc, are held as daivaansha-sambhootaas i.e., divine incarnates which the English word ‘God’ employed in the constitutional formats in Third Schedule does nearly denote…”

The PIL petition argued that the ministers and MLAs had violated Article 188 of the Constitution and should therefore be disqualified and fined for each day they remained in office.

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The bench, while dismissing the petition, also referenced the Kannada saying “devanobba, naama halavu” (God is one, though he is called multiple names) as well as the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad to illustrate the point.

“It is also significant to note that oath can be taken in the name of God or by solemn affirmation without taking any name of God. This becomes evident by a sheer look at all the formats enlisted in the Third Schedule to the Constitution of India, which employs the expression “swear in the name of God” and alternatively other expression “solemnly affirm”. There have been instances wherein the oath is taken by uttering both the expressions…. What one has to see is the substance of prescription and not just the format,” it further said.

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