SC Hears Plea to Allow Voting Rights to Undertrials and Convicts

The petition filed by a third-year law student questions Section 62(5) of Representation of People Act, 1951.

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A petition has been filed in Supreme Court challenging the law which bars undertrials and convicts from voting, reported Bar and Bench.

The petition filed by one Aditya Prasanna Bhattacharya, a third-year law student questions Section 62(5) of Representation of People Act, 1951, which reads:

“No person shall vote at any election is he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to a person subjected to preventive detention under any law for the time being in force.”

The petitioner has reportedly said that the wording of the section uses “confinement” as the yardstick thereby creating several anomalies.

The petitioner has sought to move the petition under Article 32, which allows an individual to take legal recourse to protect his/her fundamental rights, the report said.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, hearing the case has sought more details about the petitioner and why he has chosen to file a PIL on this subject under Article 32.