CHENNAI: The Madras high court has directed the special committee, constituted by the Bar Council of India, to discharge the functions of Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTP), to consider a representation, which sought to make necessary provision in the ballot paper for Nota (none of the above) option in the forthcoming elections to the BCTP.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose gave the directive while closing a PIL from advocate S. Arumugam. According to the petitioner, it has to be established that every eligible voter has a right to vote nevertheless they also have a right not to vote in the elections held as provided under the Representation of the People Act.
That sets a precedent for other bodies/councils which were run by elected members through a process of an election held in a free and fair manner, he added. He said if a member like him opt not to record his vote for any of the contesting candidates fit or suitable for the post they contest for, the only option left would be not to go to the polling booth. This was because of the reason that there has never been any provision like Rule 49 (o) under the RP Act nor a None of the above option in the Bar Council elections.
This was a serious handicap against the right of the eligible voter not to vote or not to record his vote. Therefore, he sent a representation to the BCTP to make provision for Nota in the ballot paper. Since there was no response, he filed the present petition, he added.
