HC rejects Malik, Deshmukh’s pleas for voting in Maharashtra council polls

A special court this month rejected their applications for allowing them to vote in June 10 Rajya Sabha election

The Bombay high court on Friday rejected pleas of jailed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh to allow them to vote in the Maharashtra Legislative Council election on June 20.

Bombay High Court (HT PHOTO)

A special court this month rejected their applications for allowing them to ballot in June 10 Rajya Sabha election.

A single judge high court bench of N J Jamadar rejected the fresh pleas of the two. Malik sought permission to vote between from 9 am to 4 pm on personal bond with sureties or such other terms and conditions as the court would deem fit. Deshmukh sought similar relief.

Senior advocate Amit Desai, who appeared for Malik, submitted his client was not seeking bail, but merely directions for him to be escorted to the voting venue. Desai referred to the high court’s discretionary powers and submitted it involved allowing democratic process to continue.

Advocate Vikram Chaudhari, who appeared for Deshmukh, said that the application was not adversarial and hence Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) opposition to allowing his client vote was questionable. He added Deshmukh was only seeking release for a short period to vote and the high court had the discretion to permit it.