Srinagar, Oct 17 (KNO): The Returning Officer for the Rajya Sabha polls has sent postal ballot papers to the Superintendent of District Jail Kathua, where Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Mehraj Malik is detained under the Public Safety Act, 1978, to enable him to cast his vote.
Sources told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Secretary of the Legislative Assembly, Manoj Pandita-who is serving as the Returning Officer for the polls-has dispatched the ballot papers via post to Malik so that he can participate in the election. “Three ballot papers have been sent because every MLA is entitled to cast three votes in the election,” they said, adding that the ballot papers were sent in a sealed cover.
The Jail Superintendent is also required to sign a declaration to verify Malik’s identity.
As per the rules, Malik can cast his vote before the scheduled polling date on October 24.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951 permits detainees to exercise their voting rights but disallows voting rights to undertrials and convicts lodged in jails. Since Mehraj Malik is currently detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA), he has been provided the postal ballot facility.
According to sub-section (5) of Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, individuals confined in prison-whether serving a sentence of imprisonment, undergoing transportation, or held in police custody-are not entitled to vote. However, the proviso to this sub-section clarifies that the restriction does not apply to individuals subjected to preventive detention under any law currently in force.
This legal provision makes it unambiguously clear that persons under preventive detention retain their right to vote in all elections.
After the announcement of the Rajya Sabha polls, the Election Commission had written to the Jammu & Kashmir administration seeking details of detained elector(s) for the Rajya Sabha elections, along with information about the prison(s) where they are lodged. “The J&K administration submitted details of Malik to the Returning Officer for the polls,” they added—(KNO)