(1)No Election of a Chairman or Member shall be called into question except by a petition in writing for determining the validity of the election and claiming any or both of the following reliefs, namely:(a)a declaration that the election of all or any of the elected candidates is void;(b)a declaration that he himself or any other candidate has been duly elected.(2)No such petition shall be admitted, unless it is presented to the Divisional Commissioner within thirty days from the date on which the election in question was notified.(3)The petition shall be accompanied by a deposit of five hundred rupees as security for the costs of petition.(4)The petition shall-(a)contain a concise statement of the material facts, on which the petitioner relies;(b)set forth with sufficient particulars, the ground or grounds, on which the election is called in question;(c)be signed by the petitioner and verified in the manner prescribed in Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), for verification of pleadings.(5)Such petitions may be presented by any candidate at such election or by a voter of the constituency concerned.(6)A petition filed by any person other than those specified in sub-rule (5) shall not be accepted and it shall forthwith be dismissed.(7)No petition shall be deemed to have been duly made unless such deposit as referred to in sub-rule (3) has been made and the Divisional Commissioner shall dismiss such petitions, as are not accompanied by such deposit.(8)The Divisional Commissioner may send the petition to any of his subordinate officer, not below the rank of Deputy Collector, for enquiry.(9)The decision of the appellate authority shall be final:Provided that before passing final orders by the appellate authority, reasonable opportunity to be heard shall duly be given to the party concerned.(10)If a petition filed by any person is rejected after being heard, the deposit, referred to in sub-rule (3), shall be forfeited and credited to the market committee fund.(11)The election petition shall be deposed off within six months from the date of presentation thereof.
