Presidential polls: SC to hear petition on barring of voting by jailed legislators

The Supreme Court will today hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed to seek a direction to the Election Commission to bar jailed legislators to vote in the July 19 presidential elections.

New Delhi, July 18 : The Supreme Court will today hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed to seek a direction to the Election Commission to bar jailed legislators to vote in the July 19 presidential elections.

Supreme Court Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan will preside over a bench looking into the matter that was moved by advocate Goodwill Indeevar.

Indeevar in his petition has asked that when an undertrial citizen is barred from voting when he or she is behind bars, why is a jailed politico allowed to vote.

"In view of Section 62 (5) of the RP Act, 1951, an ordinary citizen, who is confined to prison as a result of his own conduct is deprived of his voting right during his imprisonment being confined within the boundary walls of the prison, whereas political leaders have been permitted to file nomination and contest elections from prison by the Election Commission despite the fact that their voting right has ceased," argues the petition.

Some of legislators whose names were mentioned in the petition included Mohammad Shahabuddin, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, Umakant Yadav, Mukhtar Ansari, Amarmani Tripathi, Anand Sen Yadav and Akhilesh Kumar Singh.

ANI