Section 78 in Himachal Pradesh Municipal Election Rules, 2015
78. Scrutiny and opening of ballot boxes.
(1)The Returning Officer shall on the date and at the time and place fixed under rule 35 before commencement of the counting, read out the provisions of section 292 of the Act to such persons as may be present.(2)He shall then deal with the ballot boxes in the following manner, namely :-(a)all the ballot boxes used at a polling station shall be opened at the same time;(b)before any box is opened at the counting table the candidates or their agents shall be allowed to inspect the paper seal or other seals, as have been fixed thereon and to satisfy themselves that the same are intact;(c)the Returning Officer shall satisfy himself that none of the ballot boxes has in fact been tampered with; and(d)if the Returning Officer is satisfied that any ballot box has in fact been tampered with, he shall not count the ballot papers of that box and shall follow the procedure laid down in rule 52 in respect of that polling station.
