Section 134 in The West Bengal Panchayat Elections Act, 2003
134. Observers.
(1)The Commission may nominate an Observer who shall be an officer of the State Government to watch the conduct of election or elections in a constituency or a group of constituencies and to perform such other functions as may be entrusted to him by the Commission.(2)The Observer, nominated under sub-section (1), shall have the power to direct the Panchayat Returning Officer for the constituency or for any of the constituencies for which he has been nominated, to stop the counting of votes at any time before the declaration of the result or not to declare the result if, in the opinion of the Observer, booth capturing has taken place at a large number of polling stations or at places fixed for counting of votes or any ballot papers used at a polling station are unlawfully taken out of the custody of the Panchayat Returning Officer or are accidentally or intentionally destroyed or lost or damaged or tampered with to such an extent that the result of the poll at that polling station or place cannot be ascertained.(3)Where an Observer has directed the Panchayat Returning Officer under this section to stop counting of votes or not to declare the result, the Observer shall forthwith report the matter to the Commission and thereupon the Commission shall, after taking all material circumstances into account, issue appropriate directions.
