(2)The returning officer shall reject a ballot paper-(a)if it bears any mark or writing by which the elector can be identified, or(b)[ if it bears no mark at all or, to indicate the vote, it bears a mark elsewhere than on or near the symbol of one of the candidates on the face of the ballot paper or, it bears a mark made otherwise than with the instrument supplied for the purpose, or] [ Substituted by S.O. 505(E), dated 18.9.1973.](c)if votes are given on it in favour of more than one candidates, or(d)if the mark indicating the vote thereon is placed in such manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been given, or(e)if it is a spurious ballot paper, or(f)if it is so damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established, or(g)if it bears a serial number, or is of a design, different from the serial numbers, or, as the case may be, design, of the ballot papers authorised for use at the particular polling station, or(h)if it does not bear [both the mark and the signature] [ Substituted by S.O. 4542, dated 20.12.1968 (w.e.f. 1.1.1969).] which it should have borne under the provisions of sub-rule (1) of rule 38:Provided that where the returning officer is satisfied that any such defect as is mentioned in clause (g) or clause (h) has been caused by any mistake or failure on the part of a presiding officer or polling officer, the ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground of such defect:Provided further that a ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground that the mark indicating the vote is indistinct or made more than once, if the intention that the vote shall be for a particular candidate clearly appears from the way the paper is marked.
