New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Election Commission and the Central Government, asking if at some point most people press the button of NOTA (none of them) on the voting machine at the time of elections. The election should be canceled and a fresh election should be held.
Currently, NOTA has no effect on elections. It is only to express the displeasure of the voter. Voters tell through this that they do not like any candidate and they did not vote for anyone. Actually, this case is related to the right to reject.
In this connection, the option of NOTA was given in the elections. That is, if a voter does not like any candidate, then he can give his vote by pressing the button on NOTA. But NOTA has no value. In the hearing held on Monday, the petitioner’s counsel Maneka Guruswamy said that even if 99 percent of the voters press the button on NOTA, it is of no importance. The votes of the remaining one percent voters decide who will win the election.
Therefore, in this PIL it has been demanded that if NOTA gets the maximum votes, then the election of that place should be canceled. People’s opinion should be respected. On this, Chief Justice Justice SA Bobde said that if this happens, no candidate will win from that place. That is, that place will be empty. Then how will the MP or Vidhan Sabha be formed.
In response to this, Guruswami said that if NOTA votes are high and no candidate wins, then there can be a re-election in a time bound manner. In this case, all the new candidates will contest. The Supreme Court has sought answers from the Election Commission and the Central Government on all these questions. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether NOTA will have any importance in the election. If the Supreme Court gives a decision in favor of the petition, then it will be a historic step in electoral reforms.
