Plea seeks direction from the ECI to restrict those candidates and political parties whose election has been nullified, from taking part in the polls.
NOTA meaning 'None of the Above' options has been an integral part of the Indian voting system for the past eight years. This enables the voter to officially register a vote of rejection for all candidates who are contesting an election. If a voter chooses to press NOTA on the EVM, it indicates that the voter has not chosen to vote for any party.
The Supreme Court of India on September 27, 2013, ruled that the right to register a 'none of the above' vote in elections should apply while ordering the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide a button for the same in the electronic voting machines.
Eight years after giving voters the option to use NOTA in polls, the Supreme Court of India on Monday sought responses from the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) whether it would be legally permissible to reject all candidates in the fray if NOTA votes exceeded that of the candidate securing the highest number of votes.
Hearing on a plea seeking to direct the poll panel to nullify an election result and conduct a fresh poll if the maximum votes are for NOTA in a particular constituency, the Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre and the ECI.
The plea is filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay in which it sought a direction to the Election Commission to restrict those candidates and political parties, whose election has been nullified, from taking part in the fresh polls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian issued notices to the ministry of law and justice and the ECI while seeking their replies on the plea. Senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy appeared for the petitioner.
Plea in Supreme Court
The plea seeks direction from the ECI to restrict those candidates and political parties, whose election has been nullified, from taking part in the fresh polls.
A Supreme Court bench issued notices to the ministry of law and justice and the Election Commission while seeking their replies on the plea.
The bench comprised Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.
Senior advocate Maneka Guruswamy appeared for the petitioner.
What does the plea say?
The petition says that the right to reject and elect a new candidate will give power to the people to express their discontent.
If voters are dissatisfied with the background or performance of contesting candidate, they will opt for NOTA to reject such candidate and elect a new one.
The Court may declare that if 'none of the above' (NOTA) gets maximum votes, then election to that constituency shall be held within six months.
The contesting candidates rejected in the nullified elections, shall not be allowed to participate in the fresh election.
The plea said the percentage of candidates with criminal antecedents and their chances of winning has actually increased steadily over the years.
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