Prez polls: SC to decide if jailed MPs can vote

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, July 17: The Supreme Court will hear tomorrow a petition seeking direction to the Election Commission not to permit MPs and MLAs who are in jail to cast their votes in the coming Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections.

Z K Saizan, an advocate, in his petition filed through his counsel Goodwill Indeevar and Suresh Chand has contended that section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) debarred all those who were in jail from voting in any election and that the EC and the Union Government were making special arrangements to enable MPs and MLAs lodged in jails to cast their vote.

A Bench, comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrisnan and Justices R V Raveendran and Dalveer Bhandari, today directed the petition to be heard tomorrow after it was mentioned before the court for urgent hearing on the grounds that the polling in the Presidential elections is going to be held on July 19.

The petitioner has also prayed to the court to issue interim direction to the EC not to allow the MPs and MLAs and MLCs presently in jail to cast their vote in Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections. Polling for the Vice-Presidential election is due to take place on August 10.

The prominent among those who are likely to be affected if interim directions are issued by the court are former Union Minister Shibu Soren, RJD MPs Mohammad Shahabuddin and Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, UP MLAs Mukhtar Ansari, Amarmani Tripathi and Akhilesh Kumar Singh and BJP MP Babubhai Katara, who is in jail on charges of human trafficking, among others.

The apex court has already upheld the validity of section 62(5)of the RPA that provides that no person shall vote in any election if he is confined in prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise.

Section 60(b) of the same law permits a person under preventive detention to cast his vote through postal ballot. People out on bail too can vote.

UNI

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