Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Other offences and Penalties thereof: (1) A person shall be guilty of an electoral offence if at any election he/she: (a) fraudulently defaces or destroys any nomination paper or (b) fraudulently defaces, destroys or removes any list, notice or other document affixed by or under the authority of the Returning Officer or (c) fraudulently defaces or destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper or (d) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person or receives any ballot paper from any person or is in possession of any ballot paper or (e) fraudulently puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he/she is authorized by law to put in or (f) without due authority destroys, takes, opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or ballot paper then in use for the purposes of the election or (g) fraudulently or without due authority, as the case maybe, attempts to do anything of the foregoing acts or wilfully aids or abets the doing of any such acts. (2) Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall: (a) If he/she is a Returning Officer or an Assistant Returning Officer or a Presiding Officer or a Polling Officer or any other officer or clerk employed on official duty in connection with the election be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 (two) years or fine with or with both; (b) If he/she is any other person, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 6 (six) months or with fine or with both. 28 (3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be on official duty if his/her duty is to take part in the conduct of any election or part of an election including the counting of votes or to be responsible after an election for the use of ballot papers and other documents in connection with such election. (4) An offence punishable under clause (b) of sub-section (2) shall be cognizable. (5) No court shall take cognizance of any offence under section 56, or under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of this section unless there is a complaint made by order of, or under authority from the State Election Commission.