Deshmukh, Malik move HC after spl court refuses them bail to cast vote
MUMBAI: Maharashtra former home minister Anil Deshmukh and minority development minister Nawab Malik on Thursday moved the Bombay high court seeking an urgent hearing for relief after a special MP/MLA court refused to grant them bail to cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 10.
A single bench of justice PD Naik is likely to take up the two pleas on Friday morning.
Both Deshmukh and Malik are in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in separate money laundering cases. Their party, the National Congress Party (NCP), is a constituent of the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance in Maharashtra.
Deshmukh and Malik approached the special court June 3 and 6, respectively, seeking temporary release from jail for a day to cast their ballots to elect six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra on the grounds that is their right to choose the Rajya Sabha representatives for their constituencies. ED, however, contended that prisoners, even if they are lawmakers, do not have voting rights under law, and that the pleas are liable to be rejected under provisions of the Representation of the Peoples (RP) Act, 1950.
Accepting ED’s arguments, special judge RN Rokade noted that all prisoners, except those in preventive detention, are not entitled to cast votes at any elections and dismissed the petitions of the NCP leaders.
The MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, has fielded four candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. It has the numbers to ensure the election of at least three. With Deshmukh and Malik’s votes out, the MVA is likely to be short of 18 votes after taking its combined tally of 150 into account.
“We were expecting that Malik and Deshmukh will be able to exercise their voting right in the Rajya Sabha elections,” state NCP chief Jayant Patil said. A person who has been democratically elected and has not yet been convicted of a crime should be given the right to vote, he added.
HT tried to reach out to BJP for a comment but did not get one immediately.