HC seeks Centre, ECI's response on plea to grant voting rights to prisoners

The Delhi High Court Friday sought response of the Centre, Election Commission of India and prisons authorities on a plea seeking to grant and facilitate voting rights to all the persons lodged in jails across the country.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao asked the ministries of Home and Law and Justice to respond to the petition filed by three law students.

The petition has challenged the constitutionality of section 62(5) of Representation of People Act, which deprives prisoners their right to vote.

The three law students Praveen Kumar Chaudhary, Atul Kumar Dubey and Prerna Singh contended in their plea that blanket ban on right to vote of prisoners is violation of the spirit and soul enshrined in the Constitution and also to the basic principle of equality.

The petition said that all the persons in any kind of confinement either in the jails or police station or at any other place shall be allowed to vote and requisite facilities for the same shall be made available.

The plea, filed through advocate Kamlesh Mishra, said the denial of voting rights will ostracise the prisoners from the mainstream political decision making of world's largest democracy.