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The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission (EC) to respond to a plea seeking fresh election in constituencies where NOTA (none of the above) wins majority votes
The petition urged the court to direct the EC to frame rules stating that candidates who poll fewer votes than NOTA should stand debarred from contesting elections for five years
The EC and various State Election Commissions introduced NOTA in November 2013.
From 2018 onwards, several States like Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Puducherry began to treat NOTA as a “fictional electoral candidate”.
These State Election Commissions declared that if NOTA emerged as the winner in any election, there would be a mandatory re-poll.
They categorically held that declaring the second highest candidate as winner (in case NOTA gets the highest votes), violates the underlying principle and object of NOTA, in the petition filed
NOTA
None of the Above, abbreviated as NOTA, has been provided as an option to the voters of India in most elections since 2013.
By expressing a preference for none of the above, a citizen can choose not to vote for any candidates who are contesting the elections
In the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) vs. Union of India judgement of 2013, the Supreme Court of India directed the Election Commission of India to include NOTA in elections to the Lok Sabha and respective state legislative assemblies.
The NOTA option was first used in the 2013 legislative assembly elections held in four states—Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, and the union territory of Delhi.
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