- A person shall be guilty of all election offence, if at the Panchayat Election be-(i)fraudulantly defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination papers; or(ii)fraudulantly defaces, destroys or removes any list notice or other documents affixed by or under the authority of a Returning Officer; or(iii)fraudulantly defaces or fraudulantly destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot papers or any declaration of identity or official envelope used in connection with voting ballot; or(iv)without the authority supplies any ballot paper to any person or receives any ballot paper from any person or is in possession of any ballot papers; or(v)fraudulantly put into any ballot box any thing other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in; or(vi)without due authority destroys, takes opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or ballot papers then in use for the purposes of the election; or(vii)fraudulantly or without authority, as the case may be, attempts to do any of the foregoing acts or wilfully aids or abets the doing of any such acts.Any person guilty of an electoral offence under this section shall-(a)if he is Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer or a Presiding Officer at a polling station or any other officer or Assistant employed on official duty in connection with the Panchayat Election, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine which may extend, to one thousand rupees or with both;(b)if he is any other person be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to six months of which may extend to two hundred rupees or with both;(c)for the purpose of this section, a person shall be deemed to be on official duty if his duty is to take part in the conduct of Panchayat Election or part of the election including the counting on votes or to be reasonable after the election for the used ballot paper and the other documents connected with the election, but the expression "Official duty" shall not include duty imposed otherwise by or under this Act.
