Published on : 10 Oct 2025, 7:33 am 3 min read

A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the denial of voting rights to undertrial prisoners in India [ Sunita Sharma v. Union of India and anr ].

A Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran today sought the response of the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the matter.

The petition before the Court was filed by a lawyer, Sunita Sharma, who has contended that the blanket ban on voting by prisoners under Section 62 (5) of the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RP Act), is arbitrary.

The said provision lays down that,

" No person shall vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of

See Full Page