Jailed politicians can contest elections as Parliament amended law: Supreme Court

Negating the apex court order, Parliament in September passed a bill that maintains the right of those in jail to contest polls, with the government saying the court verdict was wrong and the Legislature has Constitutional duty to correct it.



The Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 was rushed through in the Lok Sabha and passed within about 15 minutes after a brief discussion. The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on August 27.

The Amendment Bill seeks to add a proviso to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention as his or her right is only temporarily suspended.

The amendment came into effect from July 10, 2013, the day the Supreme Court gave the judgment.