Hyderabad: The question of casting fake votes and Islam’s stand on the issue was raised by individuals. Two questions that were raised stood out and was addressed by the Jamia Nizamia seminary. The questions that stood out were whether a person can cast a vote on someone else’s name and if women, clad in burkha, could cast vote under another woman’s name.   

The fatwa released by the oldest Islamic seminary stated that according to the Sharia, it was permitted to participate in elections and to cast votes as it was an individual’s democratic and legal right. 

However, casting vote under the pretence of someone else was wrong and un-Islamic. Impersonation and fake vote casting are considered as cheating and people should refrain from such activities. It was released in sight of the upcoming Assembly elections in Telangana.

The Election Commission of India had earlier stated that it has removed a significant number of fake identities from the State’s electoral roll. But political parties have said that the list still consists of several names of individuals who are either dead or don’t live in the state anymore. They too are campaigning for voters not to cast their vote under impersonations.