Supreme Court: Right to vote for prisoners, Supreme Court seeks response from Center on PIL

There has been a demand to give voting rights to the prisoners lodged in the country's jails. On the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in this regard, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Central Government and the Election Commission and sought a reply.

Through the PIL, the validity of the provision of the Representation of the People Act, which deprives prisoners of voting, has been challenged. Chief Justice UU Lalit, Justice S. A bench of Ravindra Bhat and Justice Bela M. Trivedi has issued notices to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Election Commission, taking cognizance of the plea of ​​advocate Zoheb Hussain.

This petition was filed by Aditya Prasanna Bhattacharya in 2019. At that time he was a student at National Law University. The petition has challenged the validity of Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act. This section prohibits a person in jail from voting. The bench will now hear the matter on December 29.

a jailed person cannot vote

The said section of the Representation of the People Act states that no person who is imprisoned can vote in any election. Such person, whether imprisoned, on transit remand, or in police custody, shall not be eligible to vote.

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