It Is The Right Time To Give Voting Rights To Prisoners: Experts

Jail inmates are barred from exercising their rights. But leaders facing criminal charges have been allowed to contest even though they are in jail. Currently, more than 16,000 inmates in state prisons are unable to vote. According to Section 62 (5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, No person shall vote in an election if he is under arrest, imprisonment, imprisonment or any other lawful detention. But this does not apply to those who are on bail. Dr ST Ramesh, the former head of the Karnataka Prisons Department, said, Prisoners under trial or criminals who are criminals cannot vote. But persons facing criminal charges can contest elections even if they are in jail. He said that the option of postal voting can be extended to prisoners. There are 16,510 inmates in the state, including 12,823 under-trials. Prisoners are not legally allowed to vote. Therefore, no voting arrangements have been made in the jails, said ADGP Manish Kharbikar. Former Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde said, a person's statutory rights remain the same even if he is sent to jail. Food, health, education and other basic facilities will be provided to them. Former Karnataka state prosecutor BT Venkatesh said the Election Commission (EC) was wrong not to allow inmates to vote despite the reformative nature of prisons. Why not let them vote? They have challenged the ban on voting by prisoners as citizens of India.