On SC's order, EC removes NOTA option from RS, Legislative Council polls

The Election Commission Tuesday withdrew the 'none of the above' (NOTA) option from ballot papers of the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council polls following a Supreme Court directive.

On August 21, the apex court had said that NOTA will not be applicable as a ballot option in the Rajya Sabha polls.

NOTA could continue to be an option in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies.

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

It had questioned the poll panel's notification and said that NOTA was meant to be exercised by individual voters in direct polls.

In an order issued to all state chief electoral officers, the Election Commission said in view of the verdict, "The NOTA option will no longer be applicable in the Rajya Sabha election and the Legislative Council election."

From now onwards, the column for NOTA will not be printed in the ballot papers for these elections, it said.