
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr [(2013) 10 SCC 1]. This is a landmark judgment which recognizes a voter’s right to have an option of voting for ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) in an election, while protecting the right to secrecy.
This case pertains to the right of a voter to exercise his vote for “None Of The Above (NOTA)”. PUCL had taken up this issue before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Court accepted the Petition filed by PUCL and held that in a vibrant democracy, the voter must be given an opportunity to choose None Of The Above (NOTA) button which will indeed compel political parties to nominate a sound candidate. It further said that giving right to a voter not to vote for any candidate while protecting his right of secrecy was extremely important in a democracy. This judgment is landmark because it brought in effective NOTA right to the voter.