In response to a petition asking for an election to be declared invalid if the majority of voters selected the “none of the above” (NOTA) option, the Supreme Court of India has sent notice to the Election Commission of India.
The poll panel has been asked by the bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, to look into the regulations pertaining to NOTA.
“We’ll investigate.Will notify.This also has to do with the electoral process, the bench opined.
Inspirational speaker Shiv Khera filed the petition. In any constituency where the maximum number of votes was cast for NOTA, he said, the results ought to be deemed void.
The petitioner’s senior advocate, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, cited a recent instance from Surat where there was only one candidate and no election was held.
The petitioner’s attorney stressed during the hearing that voting should continue if no other candidate runs against the incumbent or withdraws, since there is still the option to vote NOTA.
In order to ensure more thoughtful electoral representation and hold candidates accountable for their performance, the petition also calls for a five-year ban on any candidate who receives fewer votes than NOTA.
In 2013, the NOTA option was implemented in response to directives from the Supreme Court regarding a 2004 Public Interest Litigation. Since then, voters have had the opportunity to register their protest and express their displeasure with the candidates that are on the ballot by using NOTA.
NOTA votes are regarded as “invalid” and have no bearing on the outcome of the election; as such, they are more symbolic than significant.
