Section 71 in Himachal Pradesh Municipal Election Rules, 2015
71. Challenged votes.
(1)If a candidate or his agent declares and undertakes to prove that any person,by applying for ballot paper has committed the offence of impersonation, the Presiding Officer, may require such person to state his name and address and shall then enter such name and address in the list of Challenged Votes in Form-42, and shall require such person to sign such entry or, if he is unable to write, to affix, his thumb impression thereto and the Presiding Officer shall sign his name across such impression and may further require such person to produce evidence of identification:Provided that no action shall be taken by the Presiding Officer under this sub-rule unless a sum of Rs.20/- has been deposited in cash against proper receipt with the Presiding Officer by the candidate or such agent for each challenge he makes.(2)If the person, so challenged, refuses to comply with such requisition he shall not be permitted to vote but if such person complies with the same and on being questioned in the manner provided in rule 67 answers the first question in affirmative and the second question in the negative and replies satisfactorily to any other question put to him in pursuance of that rule, and if having been required to produce evidence of identification, he produces evidence, which the Presiding Officer considers satisfactory, shall be allowed to vote after he has been informed of the penalty for impersonation.(3)If the Presiding Officer after such inquiry on the spot as he thinks necessary, is satisfied that the challenge made by the candidate or his polling agent under sub-rule (1) is frivolous and has not been made in good faith, he shall direct the deposit made under sub-rule (1) to be forfeited to the State Government and his order in this respect shall be final.(4)If the deposit made under sub-rule (1) is not forfeited under sub-rule (3), it shall be returned to the person by whom it was made after the close of the poll on the day on which it is made.(5)The Presiding Officer shall in every case, whether or not the person challenged is allowed to vote make a note of the circumstances in the list of challenged votes in form-42
