Thrissur court seeks clarification from BLO over alleged illegal voting by Suresh Gopi, family

Thrissur: A Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Thrissur has issued notice to a Booth-Level Officer (BLO) over allegations of illegal voter enrolment linked to Union Minister Suresh Gopi, following a complaint by senior Congress leader and former MP T.N. Prathapan.

The action stems from a petition filed by Prathapan, who has alleged a criminal conspiracy in the addition of voters during the last Lok Sabha elections. The complaint claims that Suresh Gopi, his brother Subhash Gopi, and other family members were illegally enrolled as voters at the Mukkatukara polling booth in the Thrissur Assembly constituency, despite allegedly not meeting eligibility criteria for that location.

According to the petition, the enrolments were carried out using fabricated documents and were allegedly executed in collusion with the Booth-Level Officer responsible for verification and processing at the booth level.

Court finds prima facie grounds, seeks clarification

After examining the plea, the court found prima facie grounds to seek clarification from election officials involved in the enrolment process. It directed the concerned BLO to appear in person before the court on January 20 and respond to the allegations.

Prathapan argued that the alleged irregularities had undermined the integrity of the electoral process and warranted judicial scrutiny.

Suresh Gopi not a public servant at the time, court notes

While considering the complaint, the court observed that Suresh Gopi was not a public servant at the time of the alleged offence, as the incident related to a period before he assumed office as a Union Minister.

On this basis, the court noted that statutory notice under provisions applicable to public servants was not required in his case and decided to proceed by issuing notice to the BLO.

Context of wider scrutiny of electoral rolls

The case has emerged amid heightened scrutiny of electoral rolls and voter data integrity, particularly in the backdrop of ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercises across Kerala.

Suresh Gopi had secured a stunning victory in the Lok Sabha elections, marking the first time the BJP’s lotus bloomed in Kerala in a parliamentary poll.