Section 23 in The Gujarat Municipalities Act, 1963
23. Other offences and penalties therefor.
(1)A person shall be guilty of an offence if at any election under this Act he,-(a)fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper; or(b)fraudulently defaces, destroys, or removes any list, notice or other document affixed by or under the authority of a returning officer; or(c)fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper; or(d)without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person; or(e)fraudulently puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in; or(f)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(g)fraudulently or without due 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.(2)Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall-(a)if he is a Returning Officer or a presiding officer at a polling station or any other officer or clerk employed on official duty in connection with the election, on conviction, be punished 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, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.(3)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 an election under this Act or part of such election including the counting of votes or to be responsible after such election for the used ballot papers and other documents in connection with such election, but the expression "official duty" shall not include any duty imposed otherwise than by or under this Act.(4)An offence punishable under clause (b) of sub-section (2) shall be cognizable.
