Debangana Ray
Published on: June 10, 2022 at 19:20 IST
Bombay High Court’s Single Bench Justice PD Naik refused immediate relief to Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik so that he could cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha Elections to be held today on 10th June, 2022.
The court stated that the petition filed under Articles 482 and 227 of the CrPC was not maintainable.
However, he was at liberty to approach the bench hearing bail pleas. The Petitioner was arrested and is in judicial custody in the matter of Money Laundering case related to gangster Dawood Ibrahim.
Senior advocate Amit Desai argued that voting is a constitutional right. Hence, Malik should be released in order to be able cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha Elections.
On the other hand, ASG Anil Singh stated that the petition is not maintainable since it was a purely an application of bail. He further stated that Nawab Malik should exhaust the alternative remedies available to him first, by applying to appropriate bench hearing bail pleas, before he approached the HC.
After Malik’s application for temporary release was dismissed by the Special PMLA Court, he had approached the Bombay High Court.
The Special court while refusing relief cited Section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act to state that even undertrials are barred from voting.
Special Judge while accepting the presence of divergent views regarding voting rights of undertrials noted that voting is not a constitutional but a statutory right.
Maharashtra state will witness a contest in the Rajya Sabha elections, after more than two decades, due to the presence of seven candidates contesting for six seats.
