Universal adult franchise was unanimously adopted by the framers of the Constitution of India. The right to vote is an essential part of any democracy in the world as it is the foundation stone for electing a people’s government. Disqualifying a person, merely on the basis of mental illness can be termed as a contradiction to the concept of liberal democracy which is one of the cornerstones for executing the concept of human rights in a modern society. While the Constitution makers of India had universally accepted of ‘one man, one vote’, the voting rights of the mentally ill people still remains a highly debate issue even after 73 years of independence.

EXPLAINING THE CONCEPT OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Mental illness, as defined by the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 (PWD Act), is any mental disorder other than mental retardation. The Constitution of India disqualifies any such person, who is declared of unsound mind by a competent court, from registering in an electoral roll. However, a distinct definition of ‘unsoundness of mind’ hasn’t been illustrated which leads to ambiguity as to who all are covered under this definition.

Mental illness should not be confused with unsoundness of mind. A mentally ill person may be of unsound mind at particular intervals, after which, he is capable of regaining his sanity. An apt example of this situation is mentioned under the contract law where if a mentally ill person enters into a contract during the lucid interval where he regains his sanity, then the contract amounts to a valid contract. Such persons, as psychiatrists argue, should be allowed to vote during this lucid interval.

Mr. R K Solanki, head of department of psychiatry at SMS Medical College, stated that ‘if the mentally ill people are able to think of the consequences of their decisions, then such people should be allowed to vote’.

Dr Sanjay Jain, superintendent of psychiatric centre, Jaipur also stated that like any other disease, mentally ill people who are still on medication tend to behave normally and that such people should be provided with voting rights. 

THE PROS OF PROVIDING VOTING RIGHTS TO THE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE

India is by far one of the best democracies in the whole world. Voting rights provide strength to the principles of civil rights, equality, freedom of speech, and inclusivity that are responsible for reinforcing the true concept of democracy. Depriving people with mental illness, their right to vote, by structurally discriminating against such group can be tantamount to the failure of democracy as a whole.  

During the 1965 elections of the New York City mayor, researches conducted a mock voting process for around 325 patients in a psychiatric hospital in order to draw a conclusion about whether the result of this mock voting will match with the results of elections or not. Surprisingly, the results of the mental hospital for the two main candidates resembled with the results of the nearby district.

This study was used to conclude that people with mental illness are also capable of making an informed choice.

Apart from this, India works on the model of representative democracy where the people elect their representatives that take decisions for them on a larger platform. If we exclude the mentally ill people by disallowing them to vote, it is very likely that the concerns of this group of people will remain unheard of, and it will eventually lead to ignorance of such people on the representative front of the country.

On the other hand, if persons with mental illness were allowed to vote, the politicians will tend to address their concerns like lack of community-based services and disavowal of job opportunities and will provide for viable solutions of these issues.

Voting can be termed as a political act of free expression, which is to be performed independently and in secrecy. Therefore, over-reliance on the ‘companionship model’ can also lead to the infringement of this right.

India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007, in order to protect and promote the rights of Persons with Disabilities. Since then, two new legislations were formulat4ed in India namely, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and Mental Health Care Act, 2017. Later in 2018, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted a two-day National Consultation on Accessible Election in Delhi in order to make elections accessible for Persons with Disability (PwDs) in India. However, an RTI query revealed that no action has been taken upon any of the recommendations specific to persons with intellectual and psycho-social disabilities across the country.

APPREHENSIONS ABOUT ALLOWING VOTING RIGHTS TO THE MENTALLY ILL PEOPLE

While it is extremely necessary to provide voting rights to the mentally ill people, it must no be overlooked that such people often depend on others for sustenance. There is another fear in this regard due to the ease of manipulation that follows people with mental disabilities. Manipulation can lead to unfair voting processes which can crumple down the structure of democracy. Hence, the threat of voter fraud is the primary reason behind keeping certain groups of people away from the polls.

Also, if a companion accompanies them during the voting process, then there is a high chance that the decision might get influenced which would again amount to an unfair voting practice as the basic requirement of voting is that it should be independent.

Another major concern is that the country lacks a clear definition of mental illness or mental incapacitation or unsoundness of mind. This leads to ambiguity and confusion about which group of people can or cannot be categorised under these headings.

It is difficult to quantify mental illness in percentages which again makes it difficult to segregate the group of mentally ill people who can be made eligible to vote.

Therefore, many people fear that providing voting rights to this section of the society can lead to failure of the democratic process of free and fair voting.

CONCLUSION

Therefore, the country must devise a plan that acts as a middle road by providing voting rights to the mentally ill people without affecting the ‘fairness’ of the voting process. A method should be formulated in order to determine which set of people belonging to this category can be deemed fit to vote and special arrangements should be made for such people to prevent voter fraud.

As the primary aim is to ensure that the principle of democracy is sustained, it should be kept in mind that denying the right to vote to this section will harshly affect the democratic process but at the same time, misuse of the right to vote through this section will also have adverse consequences. Hence, striking a balance between the two is of utmost necessity.