(1)The election of a person as a member of a Gram Panchayat or Zilla Panchayat shall not be called in question except by an application presented to such authority within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed on the ground that:-(a)that the election has not been a free election by reason that the corrupt practice of bribery or under influence has extensively prevailed at the election; or(b)that the result of the election has been materially affected:-(i)by the improper acceptance or rejection of any nomination;(ii)by gross failure to comply with the provisions of this Act or the rules framed thereunder.(2)The following shall be deemed to be corrupt practices of bribery or undue influence for the purposes of this Act, (1) Bribery, that is to say:-(A)any gift, offer or promise by a by any other person with the connivance of a candidate of any gratification to any person whomsoever, with the object, directly or indirectly of inducing:-(a)a person to stand or not to stand as,or to withdraw from being a candidate at any election; or(b)an elector to vote from voting at an election ; or as reward to:-(i)a person for having stood or not stood or having withdrawn his candidature, or(ii)an elector for having voted or refrained from voting.(B)Under influence, that is to say, any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of a candidate or of any other person with the connivance of the candidate with free exercise of any electoral right;Provided that without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of this clause any such person as is referred to therein who :-(i)threatens any candidate, or any elector, or any person in whom a candidate or any elector is interested, with injury of any kind including social ostracism and ex-communication or expulsion from any caste or community; or(ii)induce or attempts to induce a candidate or an elector to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered object of divine displeasure of spiritual censure, shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or elector with in meaning of this clause.(3)The application under sub-section (1) may be presented by any candidate at the election or any elector and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed.Explanation. - Any person who files a nomination paper at the election whether such nomination paper was accepted or rejected,shall be deemed to be a candidate at the election.(4)The authority to whom the application under sub-section (1) is made shall, in the matter of:-(a)hearing of the application and the procedure to be followed at such hearing;(b)setting aside the election to be void or declaring applicant to be duly elected or any other relief that may be granted to the petitioner, have such powers and authority as may be prescribed.(5)The order passed by the authority upon an application under sub-section (1) shall be final and conclusive and shall not be questioned in any civil court.(6)Notwithstanding anything in the Act, the validity of any law relating to the delimitation or wards in a Gram or Territorial Constituencies of a Zilla Panchayat or the allotment of seats to such wards in such Gram or Zilla made or purporting to be made under article 243K of the Constitution of India, shall not be called in question in any Court.
