Voting Rights of Undertrial Prisoners

In News

• Recently, the Supreme Court decided to examine poll law which deprives under trials, civil prison detainees their right to vote.

More about the news

• Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951:
  • This section mandates that “no person shall vote at any election is he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police”.
• The Petition:
  • The petition is challenging a provision in the election law that imposes a blanket ban on under trials, persons confined in civil prisons and convicts serving their sentence in jails from casting their votes.
• Issue:
  • Comparing with convicts out on bail:
    • While convicts out on bail could vote, under trials, whose innocence or guilt has not been conclusively determined, and those confined in civil persons were deprived of their right to vote.
  • Lack of reasonable classification:
    • The ban lacks reasonable classification based on the nature of the crime or duration of the sentence imposed unlike in countries like South Africa, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Greece, Canada, etc. 
  • Infringement of Fundamental Right:
    • This lack of classification is anathema to the fundamental right to equality under Article 14 (right to equality), the petition pointed out.
  • Large number of population not voting:
    • Petition claims that this provision disenfranchises a large segment of the population of the country.

Recent Improvements in the Judicial System

• Virtual court system: 
  • The regular court proceedings in our Indian courts in such unprecedented times are either being adjourned or have been carried out virtually via video conferencing. 
• e-Courts portal: 
  • It is a one-stop solution for all stakeholders like the litigants, advocates, government agencies, police, and common citizens. 
    • This portal is designed in a way that uses multiple languages. 
    • This portal is a consolidation of all the portals across the country.  
• E-filing: 
  • E-filing, also known as electronic filing, is a facility that provides filing of cases through the internet. 
• National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG):
  • The statistics of cases pending at the national, state, district and individual court level are now made accessible to the general public, researchers, academicians and the society at large. 
  • Any individual can access this information by visiting the National Judicial Data Grid portal. 
• National Service and Tracking of Electronic Process (NSTEP):
  • This is a mechanism that consists of a centralised process service tracking application and a mobile app for the bailiffs. 
  • This is used for quick delivery of summons, notices, processes and the reduction of unreasonable delays in process serving. 
• e-Sewa Kendra:
  • The e-Sewa Kendra is set up as a one-stop centre for accessing all the facilities provided under the eCourts Project. 
  • It has been set up in high courts and one in the district court of each state on a trial basis. 
  • With these centres, a litigant can acquire information on case status and get judgments and orders passed by the courts. 
• Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS):
  • The Interoperable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) is an initiative of the e-Committee to transfer data and information between the different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails, juvenile homes and forensic science laboratories seamlessly, from one platform. 

Source: TH