CHENNAI: The Special Committee constituted by the Bar Council of India in New Delhi to discharge the day-to-day affairs of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTP) and to hold the State council elections on March 28 has been directed by the HC to consider a plea for introduction of NOTA (none of the above contestants) option in ballot papers.
The First Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose gave the directive, while treating as closed a PIL petition from advocate S Arumugham on Friday. According to the petitioner, every election should be conducted in a free and fair manner and voter has a right to vote and or not, as provided under the Representation of the People Act.
That sets a precedent for other bodies/councils too. In this connection, he had sent a representation to BCTP for NOTA. Since there was no response, he filed the present petition.