Section 2 in Tamil Nadu Panchayats (Elections) Rules, 1995
2. Definitions.
(1)In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires, -(i)"Act" means the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 1994) as amended, from time to time;(ii)"ballot box" includes any box, bag or other receptacle used for the insertion of ballot paper or papers by electors;(iii)"candidate" means a person who has been or claims to have been nominated as a candidate at any election under this Act;(iv)"casual vacancy" means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time and "casual election" means an election held to fill a casual vacancy;(v)"chairperson" means chairman referred to in clause (3) of section 2 of the Act;(vi)"contesting candidate" means a candidate whose nomination has been duly accepted under sub-rule (8) of rule 29 and who has not withdrawn his candidature;(vii)"corrupt practice" means any of the practices specified in section 260 of the Act;(viii)["cost"] [Substituted by G. O. Ms. No. 175, Rural Development (PE), dated the 28th August 1997.] means all costs and expenses of, or incidental to, a trial of an election petition;(ix)"District Election Officer" means the District Collector;(x)"Election Court" means the Court of the District Judge under whose jurisdiction the Panchayat fall;(xi)"Elector in relation to a Ward or Panchayat" means a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that Ward or Panchayat for the time being in force;(xii)"electoral right" means the right of a person to stand or not to stand as, or to withdraw or not to withdraw from being a candidate, or to vote or refrain from voting at an election;(xiii)"electoral roll" means the electoral roll of a Ward of a Village Panchayat or of a Panchayat Village or a Ward of a Panchayat Union or of a Territorial Ward of a District Panchayat, as the case may be;(xiv)"electoral roll number of a person" means and includes -(a)the serial number of the entry in the electoral roll in respect of that person;(b)the serial number of the Ward of the Village Panchayat in which such entry occurs;(c)the name of the Panchayat Village to which the electoral roll relates; and(d)the serial number of the Ward of the Panchayat Union and the name of the Panchayat Union in which the Village Panchayat Ward falls or the serial number of the Ward of the District Panchayat and the name of the District Panchayat in which the Village Panchayat Ward falls, as the case may be;(xv)"Form" means a form appended to these rules and includes a translation thereof in the language or languages in which the electoral roll of the Village Panchayat is prepared;(xvi)"marked copy of the electoral roll" means a copy of the electoral roll set apart for the purpose of marking the names of electors to whom ballot paper or ballot papers are issued at an election or elections;(xvii)"members of the meeting", for the purposes of Part IX of these rules, means the Chairmen of all the Panchayat Union Councils in the district in the case of a District Panchayat and the Presidents of all Village Panchayats in the Panchayat Union in the case of a Panchayat Union Council and does not mean and include the Vice-Chairman of a Panchayat Union Council or Vice-President of a Village Panchayat on whom the functions of the Chairman or President, as the case may be, stood devolved under section 54 or 47 of the Act, respectively;(xviii)"ordinary vacancy" means a vacancy occurring by efflux of time and "ordinary election" means an election held to fill an ordinary vacancy;(xix)"other elected member" means -(a)in the case of a District Panchayat, the Chairman of a Panchayat Union Council elected to represent in the District Panchayat under sub-section (2) of section 25 of the Act; and(b)in the case of Panchayat Union Council, the President of a Village Panchayat, elected to represent in the Panchayat Union Council under sub-section (2) of section 17 of the Act;(xx)"Panchayat Electoral Registration Officer" means the Panchayat Union Commissioner designated as such by the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission to prepare and publish electoral rolls under sub-section (2) of section 30 of the Act;(xxi)"person" does not include a body of persons;(xxii)"polling Officer" means the officer appointed under rule 12 of these Rules to assist the Presiding Officer in the performance of his duties;(xxiii)"polling station" means a place fixed under rule 11 of these rules, for taking poll at an election or elections;(xxiv)"presiding Officer" means an officer appointed under rule 12 for taking poll at a polling station;(xxv)"public holiday" means any day which is a public holiday for purposes of section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 (Central Act XXVI of 1881);(xxvi)"qualifying date", in relation to the preparation of every electoral roll under these rules, means the first day of January of the year in which it is so prepared;(xxvii)"returned candidate" means a candidate whose name has been published under rules, [69,89,97 or 117] [Substituted by G. O. Ms. No. 175, Rural Development (PE), dated 28th August 1997.] as duly elected;(xxviii)"Returning Officer" means a person appointed under rule 8, [73] [Substituted by G.O. Ms. No. 175, Rural Development (PE), dated 28th August 1997.], by the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission or by the District Election Officer, if so authorised for this purpose by the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission;[(xxviii-a) "State Election Commission" means the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission;] [Inserted by G.O. Ms. No. 299, Rural Development (C4), dated the 13th November 2000.](xxix)"State Election Officer" means the officer appointed under sub-rule (1) of rule 6 of these rules;(xxx)"Ward" means the Ward of a Village Panchayat or of a Panchayat Union or of a Territorial Ward of a District Panchayat, as divided and notified under sections 12,21 or 28 of the Act for the purposes of election of members of the respective Panchayat;(xxxi)"Ward member", -(a)in the case of election of a Chairman or Vice-Chairman of a District Panchayat, means the person elected under section 26 of the Act from the Territorial Ward of the District Panchayat and does not include any other persons enlisted as members of the District Panchayat under clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of section 25 of the Act;(b)in the case of election of a Chairman or Vice-Chairman of a Panchayat Union Council, means the person elected under section 19 of the Act from the Ward of the Panchayat Union and does not include any other persons enlisted as members of the Panchayat Union Council under clauses (b), (c) and (d) of sub-section (1) of section 17 of the Act; and(c)in the case of election of Vice-President of a Village Panchayat, means the person elected under section 10 of the Act from a Ward of the Village Panchayat.(2)Words and expressions used, but not defined in these rules shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act. In the absence of such meaning, the Tamil Nadu General Clauses Act, 1891 (Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1891) shall apply for the interpretation of these rules, as it applies for the interpretation of a Tamil Nadu Act.
