Kerala Congress Leaders Object to Judge's Appointment as Election Commissioner Over Alleged RSS Ties

A proposal by the Kerala government to appoint N. Seshadrinathan, a Family Court judge from Irinjalakuda, as the State Election Commissioner (SEC) has drawn objections from a section of Congress leaders, who allege that the judge has links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The Local Self-Government Ministry forwarded the proposal to the Kerala Governor, but Congress leaders, including KPCC general secretary P.M. Niyas, have opposed it. Niyas met Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday and urged him to order a background check on Seshadrinathan, focusing on his political affiliations over the past 15 years. He also requested that the intelligence report be shared with Local Self-Governments Minister K.M. Shaji.

Earlier, Niyas had written to KPCC president Sunny Joseph and top Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary Deepa Dasmunsi and Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan, seeking intervention to reconsider the appointment.

Some party leaders had favoured another judicial officer with known Congress ties, who had served as the party's nominee for a civic body vice-chairperson role early in his career. The two officers were classmates at Government Law College in Kozhikode in the early 1980s.

Seshadrinathan, a former Principal Sessions Judge of Lakshadweep and Special Judge for NIA cases in Kochi, declined to comment, citing judicial officers' prohibition from media interaction. He stated that the government has the prerogative to appoint anyone it chooses.

The controversy follows a similar instance during the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, when Governor rejected the appointment of Law Secretary K.G. Sanal Kumar as SEC. Kumar's tenure ends in August, and the government has not yet sought an extension or a panel of judicial officers from the Kerala High Court for the Law Secretary post. The High Court has not initiated steps to prepare such a panel.

The government previously faced embarrassment when Benny Thomas, brother-in-law of Minister Sunny Joseph, and K.B. Pradeep, Special Government Pleader, resigned from their posts.