Voting rights of prisoners and custodial detainees upheld as a valid classification to protect free and fair elections.

The Supreme Court upheld Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which denies voting rights to persons confined in prison or lawful custody while exempting persons under preventive detention. It held that the right to vote is a statutory, not fundamental, right, and that the distinction drawn by the provision is a reasonable classification under Article 14 because it has a rational nexus with preserving free and fair elections, preventing criminalisation of politics, and maintaining electoral order. The challenge under Articles 14 and 21 failed.

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Issues: Whether sub-section (5) of Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which denies the right to vote to persons confined in prison or in lawful custody and exempts persons under preventive detention, is constitutionally invalid under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The right to vote is not a fundamental right or a common law right but a statutory right subject to the limitations imposed by the election law. Article 14 permits reasonable classification if it has a rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved. The impugned restriction was upheld as serving the legitimate legislative aim of preventing criminalisation of politics, maintaining probity in elections, and preserving free and fair elections. The distinction between persons in preventive detention and persons in prison or police custody was treated as a valid classification because preventive detention operates on a different legal basis from confinement after conviction or during investigation. The practical requirements of conducting orderly elections, including security and police deployment, were also accepted as justifying the restriction.

Conclusion: The classification created by Section 62(5) is reasonable and does not violate Articles 14 or 21. The challenge to the constitutional validity of the provision fails.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory restriction on voting for persons confined in prison or lawful custody is constitutionally valid where it rests on a reasonable classification having a rational nexus with the object of preserving free and fair elections and preventing criminalisation of politics.

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