New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that it has no plan to amend the electoral law to grant voting rights to undertrials.

The Union law ministry was asked about the government's "rationale" behind continuing the disenfranchisement of undertrial prisoners, despite their legal status as innocent until proven guilty, and whether it is considering to amend the Representation of the People Act to give undertrials voting rights.

Also Read | Disha Salian Death Case: ‘Lies Could Backfire on Those Spreading Them’, Says Shiv Sena-UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray.

In his written reply, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the Supreme Court has upheld the validity of section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which debars a person to vote in any election if he is confined in a jail, whether under imprisonment or otherwise, or in the lawful custody of police and hence, in view of this, there are no plans to tweak the law.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)