6 months ago
49
ARTICLE AD BOX
NEW DELHI: Why should radical facing proceedings successful petty cases to heinous crimes, similar execution oregon rape, beryllium denied close to ballot fixed the aureate ineligible rule that presumes a idiosyncratic to beryllium "innocent till recovered blameworthy by a tribunal of law".A PIL asked this question successful Supreme Court connected Friday and said due to the fact that of the barroom nether Section 62(5) of Representation of People (RP) Act an estimated 5 lakh undertrial prisoners are deprived of their voting rights.A seat of CJI B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran sought responses from Centre and Election Commission connected a PIL aft proceeding arguments from advocator Prashant Bhushan. However, according to 'Prison Statistics India 2023' - published by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 73.5% of each prisoners are undertrials, 3.9 lakh retired of 5.3 lakh prisoners.Section 62(5) of RP Act provides that "No idiosyncratic shall ballot astatine immoderate predetermination if helium is confined successful a prison, whether nether a condemnation of imprisonment oregon proscription oregon otherwise, oregon is successful the lawful custody of police". However, it did not barroom a idiosyncratic nether preventive detention to vote.The petitioner has sought a absorption to the Election Commission to framework guidelines for preserving the voting rights of persons lodged successful situation during the pendency of proceedings and acceptable up polling booths wrong prisons to alteration them to formed their votes, oregon facilitate them to usage postal ballots, if they are lodged successful a situation which is extracurricular their constituencies oregon state.
The petitioner said convicted prisoners oregon those arrested for charges of corruption whitethorn not beryllium fixed voting rights. It said undertrials person voting rights successful astir countries, including Pakistan."A broad prohibition violates the universally-recognised rule of presumption of innocence. In India, implicit 75% prisoners are pre-trial oregon undertrial detainees, galore of whom stay incarcerated for decades. In 80-90% cases, specified individuals are yet acquitted, yet they are denied the cardinal antiauthoritarian close to ballot for decades," the petition said.Interestingly, a three-judge seat of past CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala successful May 2023 dismissed a akin plea for extending voting rights to undertrial prisoners by challenging the law validity of Section 62(5) of RP Act."Constitutional validity of the proviso nether Section 62(5) of RP Act, 1951, has been upheld by a two-judge seat of this tribunal and aboriginal by a three-judge seat of this court.
In presumption of these decisions, we are not inclined to entertain the petition," the seat had said.Article 326 of the Constitution, which provides for predetermination based connected big suffrage, gives voting close to each Indian who is supra 18 years of property and is "not different disqualified nether this Constitution oregon immoderate instrumentality made by due legislature connected grounds of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, transgression oregon corrupt oregon amerciable practice."
