Detained J&K people must be allowed to vote, says EC

People in preventive detention in Jammu & Kashmir should be allowed to exercise their franchise through postal ballots during the forthcoming Asembly polls in the state, Election Commission has told J&K’s Chief Election Officer. Citing proviso to sub-section ‘d’ of section 70 of Jammu and Kashmir Representation of People’s Act 1957, the EC said people under preventive detention had the right to cast votes in the elections.

The poll panel also cited Rule 18 of the J&K Conduct of Election Rules 1965 to underline that electors under preventive detention were entitled to cast their votes by post. The EC wrote to the CEO of J&K to seek details of the people under preventive detention from the State Government so that Returning Officers could send them postal ballots.