Supreme Court Seeks Response on Voting Rights for Undertrial Prisoners

PTI, NEW DELHI, OCT 10, 2025 : The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the Election Commission on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking recognition of voting rights for nearly 4.5 lakh undertrial prisoners lodged in jails across India. A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran took note of the submissions by lawyer Prashant Bhushan that the present blanket ban imposed under Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, violates constitutional guarantees and international democratic norms.

The petition, filed by Sunita Sharma, a resident of Patiala in Punjab, made the Centre, through the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Election Commission, respondents. "This petition concerns the voting rights of about 4,50,000 pre-trial, under-trial, and non-finally convicted prisoners (excluding those in prisons for corrupt practices and electoral offences)," it said.

The petition seeks judicial intervention to ensure that prisoners, who have not been convicted of electoral offences or corruption, are not arbitrarily deprived of their democratic right to vote. The PIL seeks the issuance of guidelines to set up polling stations in prisons for local prisoners and postal ballots for inter-constituency or interstate elector prisoners (excluding those in prisons for any offence related to corrupt practices or electoral offences).

The plea argues that Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, imposes an unconstitutional and blanket restriction on all incarcerated individuals, regardless of whether they are convicted or awaiting trial. The PIL contends that this section fails the tests of constitutional consistency, non-arbitrariness, precision, and fairness, and undermines public confidence in the rule of law. Over 75% of the prison population comprises undertrial or pre-trial detainees, many of whom languish in jails for years, sometimes decades, before acquittal.

The plea referred to international practices and judicial precedents from other democracies, which typically curtail voting rights only after an individual judicial determination or for specific serious offences. It also cited India’s obligations under international treaties and conventions on civil and political rights, which guarantee non-discriminatory participation in democratic processes. The plea further highlighted that even in neighboring Pakistan, undertrial and pre-trial prisoners retain their voting rights.