(1)A person shall be guilty of an electoral offence if at any election he -(a)fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper ;(b)fradulently defaces, destroys or removes any list, notice or other documents affixed by or under the authority of the Returning Officer ;(c)fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on the ballot paper or any declaration or identification ;(d)without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person ;(e)fraudulently put into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in ;(f)without due authority destroys, takes, opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or 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 Presiding Officer at a polling station or any other officer or clerk employed on official duty in connection with the election, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees or with both ; and(b)if he is any other person, on conviction, be punishable with the imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to one 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 the election or part of an election including counting of votes or to be responsible, after an 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.
