Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: June 21, 2022 at 16:52 IST
The Supreme Court refused temporary release of Maharashtra cabinet minister Nawab Malik and former State home minister Anil Deshmukh from jail to vote in the upcoming Maharashtra Member of Legislative Council .
Interim relief to vote in elections was refused to the ministers. The court agreed to hear an application filed by former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Minority Minister Nawab Malik challenging a Bombay High Court Judgement that denied them permission to vote in the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) elections.
The two-Judge Vacation Bench of Justices CT Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia stated that in respect to the matters listed during the vacation there is a circular and the matter must be heard by the Chief Justice of India.
The Bench agreed that the petition raises an important issue concerning a Legislative Assembly (MLAright )’s to vote in Legislative Council elections on behalf of his constituency.
Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act prohibits prisoners from voting.
Justice Dhulia stated, “It is being argued that he is an elected representative by others who will elect someone else. This representation is for lakhs of people. Such distinction has not been decided, so we will look into this.”
“A person has been elected, but he cannot vote,” said Justice Dhulia. “It’s a little undemocratic. We haven’t made up our minds yet. However, it is slightly undemocratic.”
As a result, it issued a notice but refused to issue an interim order.
“The arguments reveal that there is conflict on how Section 62(5) should be interpreted. As a result, we will hold a detailed hearing on it. “However, no interim relief will be given,” the Court stated in its Judgement.
The Court stated that it could not grant relief at this eleventh hour, but agreed to examine the law.