Author: Avni Jain, Student at IILM, Gurgaon
Co-Author: Shivesh Mehta, Student at Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi
ABSTRACT
Voting can be described as a fundamental concept in the entire democratic process. As mentioned above, it is a way to participate in the democratic process. The vote can be described as the foundation of democracy. Voting can be said to be a “democratic” system. Voting was considered so sacrosanct in the modern era of democracy that it was accepted not only as a means of participation but also as a human right. The “Constitution of India” recognizes the “right to vote” and is specifically applied in the People’s Representation Act 1950. Discussions in the Assembly reveal that the idea of treating the right to vote as a fundamental right is abandoned; however, it was decided to include it in another part of the Constitution. This move found its expression in article 326 and it confers ‘right of voting’ based on adult suffrage. But ‘right to vote’ was not given as a fundamental right in part III of the Constitution, therefore nature of the ‘right to vote’ became a crucial issue in Indian constitutional law. The judiciary has shaped it according to the need of the democratic spirit of the country from time to time. In India, the ‘right to vote’ has been held to be a statutory right and not a fundamental right.
