Overview

• The court began detailed arguments on a PIL by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy seeking to extend the NOTA option to races with a single candidate
• Petitioners contend that Section 53(2) of the Representation of the People Act denies voters their Article 19(1)(a) right to reject unopposed contenders
• The Ministry of Law and Justice told the bench that NOTA is merely an expression and cannot be classified as a candidate under the 1951 Act
• Election Commission counsel noted that NOTA has never determined an outcome since its 2013 introduction and that only nine uncontested polls have occurred since 1951
• Advocates highlighted that some local body rules countermand elections when NOTA votes exceed a candidate’s, a model under consideration for assembly and parliamentary contests