Achi news desk-
Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Friday, April 26, issued a notice on a petition seeking an order that if "none of the above" (NOTA) receives the most votes in a constituency, the elections must be announced "Null and void," And new elections must be held.
The petitioner, Shiv Hara, claimed that if the NAO receives the majority of votes in a constituency, repeat elections should be held, and those candidates who lost to the NAO should be banned from running in the next elections. The petition also sought a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to frame rules ensuring proper publication of NOTA as "A fictional candidate."
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A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra agreed to consider the issues raised by the petitioner. NOTA was introduced in the electronic voting machines following a Supreme Court directive in 2013 in response to a PIL filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), giving voters the option to reject all candidates. However, under current law, a NOTA majority does not automatically invalidate the election. If NOTA receives the majority, the candidate with the second highest number of votes will be declared the winner.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayaan, representing the petitioner, cited a recent example in Surat where a BJP candidate was declared the winner by default after the Congress candidate’s nomination was rejected, and other candidates withdrew their nominations. He argued that even in such cases elections should be held, which would allow voters the option to vote for NOTA. "In Surat, where no one else has turned up, voters are forced to accept whoever the candidate is," Sankaranarayanan said.
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In light of the fact that the petition seeks to expand the law beyond the original ruling of the Supreme Court, CJI Chandrachud agreed to look into the issue. "Let’s see what the Election Commission has to say." CJI said.
