Section 61 in West Bengal Trade Unions Rules, 1998
61. Scrutiny and rejection of ballot papers.
(1)The ballot papers taken out of the ballot box shall be arranged in convenient bundles and scrutinied.(2)The Presiding Officer shall reject a ballot paper-(a)if it bears any mark or writing by which an elector may be identified, or(b)if, to indicate the vote, it bears no mark at all or bears a mark made otherwise than with the instrument supplied for the purpose, or(c)if votes are given in favour of more than one Trade Union, or(d)if it is a spurious ballot paper, or(e)if it is so damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established, or(f)if it bears a serial number or is of a design, different from the serial number or design, as the case may be, of the ballot paper authorised for use at the particular election at the particular polling station, or(g)if it does not bear both the mark and the signature which it should have borne under the provisions of sub-rule (3) of rule 49Provided that-(i)where a Presiding Officer is satisfied that any such defect as are mentioned in clause (a) or clause (g) have been caused by any mistake or failure on the part of the Presiding Officer or the Polling Officer, the ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground of such defects ; and(ii)a ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground that the mark indicating the vote is indistinct and is made more than once, if the intention that the vote shall be for a particular candidate appears from the way the paper is marked.(3)Before rejecting any ballot paper under sub-rule (2), the Presiding Officer shall allow either the General Secretaries of the contesting Trade Unions or their election agents or counting agents who are present a reasonable opportunity to inspect the ballot paper but shall not allow them to handle such ballot paper or any other ballot paper.(4)The Presiding Officer shall record on every ballot paper which he rejects the letter "B" and the ground(s) for such rejection in adeviated from, either in his own hand or by means of a rubber stamp, and his decision in this regard shall be final.
