Summary
The Supreme Court quashed Election Commission circulars introducing NOTA in elections to the Council of States. It distinguished the direct elections addressed in PUCL from Rajya Sabha elections involving elected legislators, proportional representation, transferable votes and open ballots, and held that the Commission’s directions departed from the governing constitutional and legal framework.
Issues
- Whether the Election Commission could extend the NOTA option recognised for direct elections to elections to the Council of States.
Provisions considered
- Article 80(4), Constitution of IndiaThe system of proportional representation by single transferable vote through elected Assembly members was central to distinguishing Rajya Sabha elections from direct elections. (¶¶ 5, 6, 8, 12, 23, 24)
- Article 324, Constitution of IndiaThe Commission must act consistently with valid election law and judicial interpretation; its powers did not authorise the impugned extension of NOTA. (¶¶ 25, 26, 27)
Held
- PUCL concerned direct, constituency-based elections and protection of voters’ secrecy. It did not authorise NOTA in elections to the Council of States, where legislators elect State representatives through a system of proportional representation and transferable votes, using open ballots. (¶¶ 11, 12, 13, 18, 23, 24)
- In the Court’s assessment, introducing NOTA into that system undermined the value and transferability of votes, party discipline and the purity of the electoral process, and encouraged the evils of defection and corruption. (¶¶ 19, 22, 23, 27)
- The Election Commission’s powers under Article 324 must conform to the legal framework established by Parliament and authoritative judicial interpretation. The impugned NOTA circulars could not be sustained by treating PUCL as their source of authority. (¶¶ 26, 27, 28)
Result
Writ petition allowed; Election Commission circulars introducing NOTA for elections to the Council of States quashed. No order as to costs.