🌟 [ 12 ]   Can Jailed Persons Contest Elections | Indepth | UPSC [ @Drishti IAS ]

Last week, Amritpal Singh, the jailed head of the pro-Khalistan outfit Waris Punjab de, announced his intention to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Punjab’s Khadoor Sahib seat, to be held on June 1. Though his ability to campaign may be limited, his right to contest polls while facing criminal charges will not be under question unless he is convicted. However, he will be barred from casting his vote in the upcoming elections — much like other accused people in prisoners across India. In 1975, the Supreme Court in the case of Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain recognized that free and fair elections are a part of the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution of India, and any laws or policies that would violate this principle could be struck down. Though free and fair elections have been placed on the highest constitutional pedestal, the Supreme Court has held that the rights to elect and be elected do not enjoy the same status. For instance, a five-judge constitution Bench in 2006, in the case of Kuldip Nayar v. Union of India held that the right to vote (or the right to elect as it was called) is “pure and simple, a statutory right”. This means that voting is not a fundamental right and can be repealed. The same was held for the right to be elected by the Bench, ruling that laws enacted by Parliament could regulate both these statutory rights. *: IOS: [ 🔗 Click ‼️ ] Android : [ 🔗 Click ‼️ ] Windows : [ 🔗 Click ‼️ ] * GS फाउंडेशन लाइव ऑनलाइन कोर्स में नामांकन के लिये इस लिंक पर क्लिक करें : [ 🔗 Click ‼️ ] NCERT कोर्स में नामांकन के लिये इस लिंक पर क्लि� .

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