The None of the Above (NOTA) option was provided on the ballot following the Supreme Court judgment in which case?
- A.Kihoto Hollohan versus Zachillhu
- B.People's Union for Civil Liberties versus Union of India
- C.Sadiq Ali versus Election Commission of India
- D.Lily Thomas versus Union of India
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, People's Union for Civil Liberties versus Union of India. In this judgment of 2013 the Supreme Court held that the right to reject every candidate is part of the freedom of expression and of the secrecy of the ballot, and it directed the Election Commission to provide a None of the Above button; the Commission used it from the assembly elections held later that year. Option A, Kihoto Hollohan versus Zachillhu of 1992, is the anti-defection case in which the Court upheld the Tenth Schedule but held the decision of the Speaker open to judicial review. Option C, Sadiq Ali of 1971, is the case about a split in a recognised party, where the Court approved the tests of aims and objects, party organisation and legislative strength. Option D, Lily Thomas of 2013, struck down the provision that let a convicted legislator keep the seat by filing an appeal.
Read the full article: Political Parties and Electoral Reforms: Laws and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich Article of the Constitution vests the superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission of India?
- A.Article 324
- B.Article 326
- C.Article 329
- D.Article 330
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Article 324 places the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament, to the state legislatures and to the offices of President and Vice-President in the Election Commission of India, and this is the Article the Commission relies on when…
Read the full explanation →The Elephant is a symbol of which Indian political party?
- A.National Congress Party
- B.Communist Party of India
- C.Bahujan Samaj Party
- D.Rashtriya Janata Dal
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The elephant is the reserved symbol of the Bahujan Samaj Party, founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984; because the elephant is also used by another party in Assam and Sikkim, the Election Commission allots it to the Bahujan Samaj Party elsewhere, a detail that shows how reserved symbols work under…
Read the full explanation →The voting age in India was reduced from twenty-one years to eighteen years by which Constitutional Amendment?
- A.Forty-fourth Amendment
- B.Fifty-second Amendment
- C.Sixty-first Amendment
- D.Seventy-third Amendment
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The Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1988 amended Article 326 and lowered the qualifying age for a voter from twenty-one to eighteen years, and it took effect in March 1989, so the general election of 1989 was the first in which eighteen-year-olds voted.
Read the full explanation →The anti-defection law is contained in which Schedule of the Constitution of India?
- A.Ninth Schedule
- B.Tenth Schedule
- C.Eleventh Schedule
- D.Twelfth Schedule
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The Tenth Schedule was added by the Fifty-second Amendment in 1985 and it disqualifies a member of Parliament or of a state legislature who voluntarily gives up the membership of the party on whose ticket the seat was won, or who votes or abstains against the party direction; the Speaker…
Read the full explanation →Under which section of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is a political party registered with the Election Commission of India?
- A.Section 29A
- B.Section 33A
- C.Section 123
- D.Section 8
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Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is the provision under which an association or body of individual citizens applies to the Election Commission for registration as a political party, and the application must carry a specific undertaking of true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, to…
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