Lawsuit filed against Thiruvananthapuram Mayor VV Rajesh over Sugathan’s “forged” signatures

VV Rajesh | Photo credit: FILE PHOTO

The Museum Police on Thursday (October 8) registered a case against Thiruvananthapuram Mayor VV Rajesh, Corporation Secretary and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vazhottukonam Councilor R. Sugathan for allegedly forging Mr. Sugathan’s signature in the Corporation Board’s attendance sheet. Left Democratic Front (LDF) parliamentary party president SP Deepak, who filed the complaint, alleged that the signature was forged to falsely show Mr Sugathan’s presence at meetings he actually missed while he was in hiding following a police case.

The forged signatures were allegedly recorded for council meetings held on February 26, March 11 and April 27. Scrutiny of copies of the attendance register obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed that these forged signatures falsely indicated Mr. Sugathan’s attendance at council meetings on those three days, Mr. Deepak said.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Deepak said the mayor should apologize to the public and step down. His continued role as mayor after fraudulently recording the attendance of councilor Vazhottukonam who consistently did not attend council meetings is tantamount to an insult to the public.

“This is the first time in the history of the corporation that the police have registered a criminal case against the mayor for such illegality. The mayor has to explain how the signature of a councilor who did not attend the council meeting was entered in the register maintained by the mayor and the secretary. The new attendance card was provided to the members after a scuffle in the council chamber in which the signature in the original inquiry register was clearly removed,” said Mr. Deepak.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rajesh on Thursday served a defamation notice on Mr. Deepak, demanding compensation of ₹ 5 crore for the attendance sheet allegations. The mayor suffered “serious defamation, loss of reputation and mental anguish” through defamatory statements, the notice said.

Published – 8 Oct 2026 21:44 IST