BREAKING| Nawab Malik & Anil Deshmukh Approach Supreme Court Seeking Temporary Release From Prison For Voting In MLC Elections

Maharashtra MLAs Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh have approached the Supreme Court seeking temporary release from the prison for casting vote in the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, which is going on today.

While Malik is the Minority Development Minister, Deshmukh is the former Home Minister. Both are lodged in a prison in Mumbai in two separeate cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

They have filed the Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the order passed by the Bombay High Court on June 17 refusing to grant them temporary release for casting vote in MLC polls.

The petition was mentioned today morning before a vacation bench comprising Justices CT Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia by Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora for urgent listing today itself.

Arora requested for a posting today itself submitting that as MLAs they have the right to vote in the MLC elections.

Justice CT Ravikumar said that such matters have to go before the Chief Justice of India first before allowing urgent listing. "In respect of matters listed during the vacation. there is a circular and the matter has to go before the CJI", the judge said.

 After much persuasion by Arora, the bench said that it will ascertain if the matter can be posted at 12 PM today.

The High Court cited the bar under Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act 1955 against allowing prisoners to vote and said that the bar is applicable to undertrials as well.

"If a full play is given to the provisions contained in section 2(d) and Section 62(5) of the RP Act 1951, an inference becomes inescapable that a person in custody, either post conviction or during the course of investigation or trial, is prohibited from casting vote in any election", a single bench of Justice NJ Jamadar held.

Further, the Court observed that permitting a person in prison to vote, who is otherwise barred from voting wouldn't strengthen democracy.

Justice NJ Jamadar held that democratic principles are strengthened when the electoral process remains unblemished and all those participating in the process are persons of integrity. Arresting or stopping criminalization of politics was one of the objects for introducing the bar on an imprisoned person from voting under subsection (5) of Section 62 of Representation of the People's Act, the court said.