No Limit to Constitutional Disenfranchisement?, 20 May 2023
Scope and Contents
The Upendra Baxi Collection is a digital collection that currently comprises a single series, Bibliography. This series is organised into several subseries, including Published Academic Articles, Published Book Chapters, Published Books, Published Book Reviews, Published Lectures and Presentations from Conferences and Seminars, Newspaper Articles, Letters and Correspondence (Mathura Rape Case), Other Media, and Media Articles by Others on the Mathura Rape Case.
Dates
- Publication: 20 May 2023
Creator
- Upendra Baxi (Author, Person)
- Sharunya (Archives Intern, Person)
- Meghashree Dev (Processing Archivist, Person)
Full Extent
From the Collection: 250 Megabytes
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Prof. Upendra Baxi critiques the Supreme Court's 2023 dismissal of a plea challenging prisoner disenfranchisement under Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act 1951. The Court upheld restrictions citing resource constraints, security needs, and electoral purity. Baxi argues this violates international human rights law, noting that approximately 400,000 citizens lose voting rights. He questions whether the Court should establish comprehensive protections for prisoners' residual rights, suggesting the judiciary should balance punishment's reformative goals with human dignity principles rather than accepting disenfranchisement as reasonable simply because prisoners have limited freedom. In India Legal.
Topical
Repository Details
Part of the NLS Law and Society Archives Repository