Supreme Court on NOTA: 'None of the above' voting option not allowed in Rajya Sabha polls; overrules election panel

The Supreme Court on Tuesday while hearing on NOTA voting option in Rajya Sabha polls said that the option of none of the above (NOTA) cannot be permitted in Rajya Sabha elections. The top court overruled election panel's plea.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud has set aside the Election Commission's notification allowing NOTA option in the ballot papers for Rajya Sabha polls.

The apex court had sought the poll panel's notification and said that NOTA was meant to be exercised by individual voters in direct polls. The verdict came on a petition filed by Shailesh Manubhai Parmar, who was the Congress's chief whip in the Gujarat assembly during the last Rajya Sabha polls, in which the party had fielded sitting MP Ahmed Patel.

Parmar had questioned the Election Commission's notification allowing the NOTA option in ballot papers.

Earlier, the top court had said by introducing NOTA, the poll panel was legitimising the act of not voting. However, the Gujarat Congress leader had alleged that if the NOTA provision was allowed in the Rajya Sabha polls, it would encourage "horse-trading and corruption".

The poll panel had also said NOTA was first introduced in 2014 following a Supreme Court verdict a year earlier and they (the Congress) did not have any objection in subsequent polls as it suited them, reported NDTV.

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