Voting Rights to Prisoners and Tribals

Introduction:

India is the biggest democratic country in the world, which means that citizens of India have a right to choose their government. Elections are held every 5 years at both State level (Rajya Sabha Elections) and at National level ( Lok Sabha Elections). Elections in India are managed by the Election Commission of India, they keep their eyes on every party and it has also set some rules, guidelines and requirements that a party must oblige to and fulfil all the requirements needed. After this, the parties are divided into regional and national and people can cast their votes to whichever party they want to.

Who Can Vote in India?

Any person who is a citizen of India and is aged 18 or above can cast his/her vote in general elections. Firstly, every person in the country has to enrol himself/herself for casting vote. Once a citizen has qualified for casting his/her vote and has enrolled as a voter, a voter slip is issued which confirms the citizen’s name on the voter list. This slip, along with a photo ID proof recognized.

To register as a voter, you need to have the following documents:

1. A voter’s registration form
2. Proof of residence
3. Proof of age and identity
4. Two recent passport-size photographs

Then if they fulfil every criterion required for being able to vote, they are enrolled in the voter’s list by the Election Commission of India.

Who Cannot Vote in India?

Citizens who have been acknowledged by the law that they are unstable or disqualified due to fraudulent practices or any illegitimate act relating to elections are not permitted to be a voter. A person who is not a citizen of India cannot register in the electoral roll and cannot be a part of the elections.

Why is Voting Important?

A nation’s political foundations are built using elections and also as a means to choose their leaders of tomorrow. Voting is a fundamental and constitutional right of every citizen of India and is guaranteed by the constitution of India. As we know the minimum age for casting in India is 18 years. Voting not only enables citizens for choosing their political parties but it also helps them to realize the importance of citizenship, it is a way of expressing an opinion of citizens in a democratic nation. Many people in India do not vote as they think that their ‘one’ vote will not make a change but as a matter of fact, it does.

 It enables citizen’s to choose their own government, it also people to choose their representatives in the government. It is the right, benefit and an obligation to vote as a citizen of the nation and an individual from our society.      

In a country as vast and diverse as ours, different regions have different concerns and priorities. The process of voting allows every citizen to have a say in what should constitute the matters of importance by voting for the candidate that he/she deems fit for the purpose. Voting is as much a responsibility as it is a right. If citizens are not careful about casting their vote or worse, skip their vote altogether it will jeopardize the existence of our democratic republic.

Voting Rights to Prisoners in India

Prisoners constitute a significant percentage of the voting population in India. There were 433,003 prisoners in jails across India as on 31 December 2016; 95% of the prisoners were male and the remaining 5% were female (according to the census of 2016).

India is among the few countries in the world that doesn’t permit prisoners or under-trials to vote. Section 62(5) of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 (RoPA) prohibits all people who are confined in jail or are in the lawful custody of the police from a pick.

In the latest judgment, the Delhi High Court upheld the legitimacy of Section 62(5) of Representation of People’s Act, 1951, which disqualifies criminals from voting in an election. Since the Court had not much scope to deal with the matter, as the Supreme Court had already decided the legitimacy of the section in Anukul Chandra Pradhan vs Union of India.

The 1997 Judgment

Section 62(5) of the Act prohibits any person, who is in prison or in the lawful custody of the police, to vote (except the people who are in preventive detention). The said provision was challenged on the ground that it violates Article 14 of the Constitution, as it makes an arbitrary distinction between people who are in prison and people who are out on bail or parole.

• Further, in Mahendra Kumar Shastri v. Union of Republic of India and Others, [(1984) two SCC 442], the Supreme Court, in this case, discovered that the restriction obligatory by the ROPA wasn’t unconstitutional and was in public’s interest.

• During a decision of the Patna high court, Jan Chaukidar (Peoples Watch)v. UOI & Ors. [2004 (2) BLJR 988], in this matter The Court aforesaid that the proper to vote could be a statutory right and the law provides it, and therefore the law will take it away.

• In the year 2010, the West Bengal Government lobbied for prisoners o induce voting rights.

• In Bihar similar, efforts were created within the same year to make sure that under-trial prisoners lodged in numerous jails of the state got voting rights and took part within the elections to the State Assembly that was to be commenced in October-November.

Although there are Court judgments talking at length regarding the human rights of prisoners and under-trials, there has been very little amendment as regards the stand on their pick rights. Government of India should rethink the blanket ban on prisoners’ right to vote and take into account involving the commission at the side of the Courts so as to make sure an additional progressive law on the difficulty.

Voting Rights to Tribal People

Tribal people in India constitute about 8.6% of India’s total population (according to the census of 2011). Tribal people also have the right to vote.

People belonging to tribal communities in India constitute a huge part of qualified voters. Therefore, they attract the attention of various national and regional parties. Various parties and leaders try to manipulate this section of the population and try to get maximum voters from tribal communities as they are influenced easily.

In India, a certain quantity of political and university posts are held for a specific group of population, including Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, Woman, etc.    

In the early history of India under British rule, a separate body of voters meant not only were the seats reserved for a specific community, but voting for the reserved constituency was permitted only for members of that specific community. For example, only Muslims could vote for Muslim candidates in the reserved constituencies for Muslims.

Problems Faced by Tribal People for Voting

Some problems faced by people belonging to tribal communities in India are as follows-

1. Illiteracy – This is a huge problem which is faced by the majority of tribal people in India. They are not able to distinguish between parties that could benefit them and the ones that could not.
2. Unaware of the Political Scenario – Most of the tribal people in India are unaware of the political scenario of the country and therefore cannot make the right choice during elections.
3. Living Conditions – A majority of the tribal population lives in remote areas, that is inaccessible even to the Election Commission of India. And therefore a lot of people do not get to vote.

Conclusion

India is a secular country and every citizen of India has a right to vote regardless of his/her caste, religion, gender, etc. Every person has a right to vote and he/she can willingly choose to cast his/her vote to whichever party he/she prefers.

The Election Commission of India must see to it that every political party must contest elections in a fair manner. Political parties must see that their party’s agenda must be simple and clear so that it easily understandable to common people of the country. Parties must not promise false schemes and ideas to the people or else the public will lose confidence in their party. The EC must also see to it that tribal people are encouraged to vote and the leaders coming from tribal communities should particularly help in the development of the tribal communities and areas. The EC should also create more polling booths so that it is easily accessible to the tribal population in the particular region or area.