The following shall be the procedure adopted for filling up vacancies by election under clause (a) or (b) of section 21 :-(1)The electoral roll shall be prepared by the Registrar from the State Register. The roll shall show the names alphabetically and separately of the dentists registered in Part A and of those registered in Part B of the State Register. The roll shall contain the name, qualifications and address of every person qualified to vote for the election of a member to fill up the vacancy or vacancies.(2)Candidates qualified for election shall be proposed and seconded by persons qualified as electors. No elector shall propose or second the nomination of more persons than are required to fill up the vacancy or vacancies. If more nominations than are required to fill up a vacancy or vacancies be subscribed by the same elector, all nominations subscribed by him shall be held to be void.(3)The candidate shall sign the nomination paper declaring that he is willing to serve on the Council, if elected. In the absence of such a declaration the nomination shall be treated as invalid.(4)The candidate shall send to the Returning Officer by post or otherwise a nomination paper in the form approved by the Council duly signed and completed so as to reach the Returning Officer on or before the last date appointed by the Council for the receipt of nomination papers. The last date for receiving nominations shall not be earlier than 40 days from the date appointed for counting of votes. A nomination paper in the form approved by the Council shall be supplied by the Returning Officer to any elector asking for the same. Any nomination paper which is not received by the Returning Officer on or before the date appointed by the Council shall be rejected.(5)On the date and at the place appointed by the Council for scrutiny of nominations, the Returning Officer shall scrutinize the nomination papers received by him. Any candidate may be present either in person or by an accredited representatives at the time of such scrutiny. On completion of the scrutiny of nominations and after the expiry of the period within which candidature may be withdrawn under sub-rule (6), the Returning Officer shall forthwith declare the names of the candidates whose nomination papers are held valid by him.(6)Any candidate may withdraw his candidature by notice in writing signed by him. Such notice shall not be valid, unless it is delivered to theReturning Officer, or sent to him by post or otherwise and received by the Returning Officer, before the time and the date appointed by the President for such purpose.(7)If in case of any election the number of candidates duly nominated does not exceed the number required to fill up the vacancy or vacancies, the Returning Officer shall forthwith declare all such candidates to be elected.(8)If at any election the number of candidates duly nominated exceeds the vacancies to be filled up, the Returning Officer shall forthwith publish their names and addresses on the notice-board of the Council, in the Bombay Government Gazette and in such manner as the Council may direct. The Returning Officer shall further arrange for the printing of the voting papers in Form A given in the Appendix, with the names of the candidates entered therein in alphabetical order. Such names and the instructions given in the voting paper shall be printed in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and Kannada.(9)The Returning Officer shall, not less than twenty-one days before the date appointed for counting of votes, send by post to each elector one such voting paper signed by (he Returning Officer or bearing a facsimile stamp or bearing his seal, a smaller blank cover with the words "Voting Paper" printed thereon and a bigger cover, on which are printed on the left top corner the serial alphabetical number of the elector and on the left lower corner the name and the signature columns for the elector and in the centre the address of the Returning Officer as under :-To,The Returning Officer,C/o The Bombay State Dental Council Office,Bombay.(10)An elector who has not received his voting paper and other connected papers sent by post or whose papers, before they are dispatched back to the Returning Officer have been inadvertently spoiled in such manner that they cannot be conveniently used or who has lost his papers, may on his transmitting to the Returning Officer a declaration to that effect signed by himself require the Returning Officer to send him duplicate papers in place of those not received, spoilt or lost and if the papers have been spoilt, the spoilt papers shall be returned to the Returning Officer who shall cancel them on receipt. In every case when duplicate papers are issued a record thereof shall be kept by the Returning Officer and a mark "Duplicate" shall be placed on the bigger cover, which will bear the same serial alphabetical number as was originally given to the said elector. The voting papers issued in such cases shall also be marked "Duplicate".(11)The Returning Officer shall notify in the Bombay Government Gazette and in such other manner as the Council may direct, the date, time and place fixed by the Council for each of the following stages of the election, namely(i)Last date for the receipt of the nomination papers.(ii)Date and place for scrutiny of nomination papers.(iii)Last hour and date for withdrawal of candidature.(iv)Date, time and place for counting of votes.(12)Before such date as may be appointed by the Council for counting of votes every elector desirous of voting shall send his voting paper to the Returning Officer and the Returning Officer shall keep the same collected in sealed boxes :Provided that, any voting paper which is not received by the Returning Officer before 12 noon on the date appointed for the counting of votes or which does not confirm these rules shall be rejected.(13)The President and if he be unable to act, the Vice-President, shall nominate as scrutineers such number of members of the Council not exceeding four, as he thinks fit.(14)The Returning Officer shall attend for the purpose of counting the votes on such date and at such time and place as may be appointed by the Council in this behalf. Any candidate may be present in person or by an accredited representative at the counting of the votes.(15)When the counting of the votes has been completed, the Returning Officer shall forthwith declare the candidate or candidates as the case may be, to whom largest number of votes have been given, to be elected and shall forthwith inform the successful candidate by letter of his being elected on the Council. Every candidate who is elected shall, within such period as may be specified by the Returning Officer in the letter, signify to the Returning Officer his acceptance of a seat on the Council. If no such intimation is received by the Returning Officer within the said period, the candidate shall be deemed to have accepted a seat on the Council. If the candidate has intimated to the Returning Officer that he does not accept a seat on the Council, then one of the remaining candidates to whom the next largest number of votes have been given shall be declared to have been elected in the manner prescribed above in the place of the candidate first elected and the same procedure shall be followed if further vacancies are caused by the refusal of the candidate to accept a seat on the Council.(16)When an equality of votes is found to exist between any candidates and the addition of a vote will entitle any one or more of the candidates to be declared elected, the determination of the person or persons to whom such one additional vote shall be deemed to have been given shall be made by lot, to be drawn by the Returning Officer and in such manner as the President or the person authorised by him in this behalf may determine.(17)Upon the completion of the counting of votes, and after the result has been declared by him, the Returning Officer shall seal the voting papers and all other documents relating to the election including nomination papers and covers of voting papers and shall retain the same for a period of six months and thereafter cause them to be destroyed.(18)The Returning Officer shall inform the President of the result of election.(19)If any dispute arises regarding any such election, the Council shall refer such dispute to the State Government, whose decision shall be final.(20)The first elections to the Council shall be held by the Registrar of the Dentists Registration Tribunal; and for the said purposes he shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed on the Council and the President and Vice-President by these rules and the preceding rules.
