Swearing-in ceremony needs only Governor, officials, oath register

Kochi: The legal experts pointed out that only the Governor, elected cabinet members and the staff, including the official who keeps the oath register, need to be physically present at the swearing-in ceremony. Even the MLAs need not be present.

This was revealed when the event is about to be organised with 500 invitees amid triple lockdown. The oath taking of the state ministers is explained in the third schedule of the Constitution. The oath of allegiance should be taken in the presence of the Governor.

The ministers take oath in the presence of the Governor, sign in the oath register and take over duty at the secretariat concluding the procedures. The officials including the chief secretary should be present for this. One minister requires only five minutes to take oath. So, 21 ministers can be sworn in within 2 hours.

When Mamata Banerjee was sworn in as West Bengal chief minister this time, only a few people attended the event. Less than 30 people were present when Chief Justice of India NV Ramana was sworn-in at Ashoka Hall.

Adv Kaleeswaram Raj opined that inviting 500 people to the event cannot be labelled wrong, but they could have given a great message if the numbers were limited.

Supreme court lawyer Adv M R Abhilash said that oath taking can be celebrated in normal situations. But ethical values as suggested in the Constitution is more important in this context, he added.