Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats (Conduct of Election of Members of Commune Panchayat Councils and P…

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La Gazette de L' État de Poudouchéry

The Gazette of Puducherry

PART - II

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®ı Amﬂºƒˆ A>[˛wÁ\ 2022 } Û[ | 29 { No. 27 Poudouchéry Mercredi 2 9 Juin 2022

No. Puducherry Wednesday 29th June 2022

(8 Asadha 1944)

GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY

LOCAL ADMINISTRATION SECRETARIAT

(G.O. Ms. No. 31/LAS/A1/2022, Puducherry, dated 24th June 2022)

NOTIFICATION

In exercise of the powers conferred under clause (l) of sub-section (2) of section 38 of the Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats Act, 1973 (No. 10 of 1973) and of all other powers enabling her in this behalf, the Lieutenant-Governor, Puducherry, is hereby pleased to make the following rules further to amend the Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats (Conduct of Election of Members of Commune Panchayat Councils and Presidents and Members of Village Panchayats) Rules, 1978, notified vide G.O. Ms. No. 310, dated the 11th December, 1978 of Local Administration, Government of Puducherry namely:-

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1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) These rules may

be called the Puducherry Village and Commune Panchayats (Conduct of

Election of Members of Commune Panchayat Councils and Presidents

and Members of Village Panchayats) [Second Amendment] rules, 2022.

(2) They shall extend to the whole of the Union territory of

Puducherry.

(3) They shall come into force with immediate effect.

2. Amendment of rule 2.— In the Puducherry Village and Commune

Panchayat (Conduct of Election of Members of Commune Panchayat

Councils and Presidents and Members of Village Panchayats) Rules, 1978

[hereinafter referred to as "the said rules"] in the rule 2 (1), after

clause (l) the following shall be inserted, namely:-

"(l)(a) 'returned candidate' means, a candidate, whose name has

been published under section 37 of the Act as duly elected;"

3. Insertion of new rules 42A to 42I.— In the said rules, after rule 42,

the following rules shall be inserted, namely:-

"42A. Account of Election Expenses:- Every contesting

candidate at an election shall, either by himself or by a person authorised

by him or by his election agent, keep a separate and correct account of

all the expenditure incurred in connection with the election between the

date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the

result, both dates inclusive.

Explanation.- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared

that any expenditure incurred in respect of any arrangement made,

facilities provided or any other act or thing done to any person in the

service of the Government or any Panchayat and belonging to any of

the classes mentioned in clause (7) of section 123 of the Representation

of People Act, 1951 in the discharge or purported discharge of his

official duty as mentioned in the proviso shall to that clause shall not

be deemed to be expenditure in connection with the election incurred or

authorized by a candidate or by his election agent for the purpose of

this rule.

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42B. Lodging of accounts with the Returning Officer:- (1) Every contesting candidate at an election shall, within thirty days from the date of election of the returned candidate, lodge with the Returning Officer an account of his election expenses which shall be a true copy of the account maintained by him or by his election agent under rule 42A.

42C. Particulars of Account of Election Expenses:- (1) The account of election expenses to be maintained by a candidate or his election agent, in the prescribed format by the State Election Commission, from time to time under rule 42A shall contain the following particulars in respect of each item of expenditure from day to day namely:-

(a) the date on which the expenditure incurred or

authorized;

(b) the nature of the expenditure (as for example, travelling,

postage or printing and the like) ;

(i) the amount paid;

(ii) the amount outstanding;

(d) the date of payment;

(e) the name and address of the payee;

(f) the serial number of vouchers, in case of amount paid;

(g) the serial number of bills, if any, in case of amount

outstanding; and

(h) the name and address of the person to whom the

amount outstanding is payable.

(2) A voucher shall be obtained for every item of expenditure unless from the nature of the case, such as postage, travel by rail and the like, it is not practicable to obtain a voucher.

(3) All vouchers shall be lodged along with the account of election expenses, arranged according to the date of payment and serially numbered by the candidate or his election agent and such serial numbers shall be entered in the account, under item (f) of the above sub-rule(1).

302 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II

(4) It shall not be necessary to give the particulars, mentioned in item (e) of the above sub-rule (1) in regard to items of expenditure for which vouchers have not been obtained under sub-rule (2).

42D. Notice by Returning Officer for inspection of account:- The Returning Officer shall, within seven days from the date on which the account of election expenses has been lodged by a candidate under rule 42B, cause a notice to be affixed on his notice-board specifying:-

(a) the date on which the account has been lodged

(b) the name of the candidate; and

inspected.

42E. Inspection of account and the obtaining of copies thereof:- Any person shall on payment of a fee of ten rupee be entitled to inspect any such account and on payment of such fee as may be fixed by the Election Commission in this behalf be entitled to obtain attested copies of such account or of any part thereof.

42F. Report by the Returning Officer as to the lodging of the account of election expenses and the decision of the Election Commission thereon:- (1) As soon as may be after the expiration of the time specified in rule 42B for the lodging of the accounts of election expenses at any election, the Returning Officer shall report to the Election Commission:-

(a) the name of each contesting candidate;

(b) whether such candidate has lodged his account of election expenses and if so, the date on which such account has been lodged; and

(2) Where, the Returning Officer is of the opinion that the account of election expenses of any candidate has not been lodged in the manner required by these rules, he shall with every such report forward to the Election Commission the account of election expenses of that candidate and the vouchers lodged alongwith it.

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(3) Immediately after the submission of the report referred

to in sub-rule (1) above, the Returning Officer shall publish

a copy thereof by affixing the same to his notice-board.

(4) As soon as may be after the receipt of the report referred

to in sub-rule (1) above, the Election Commission shall consider

the same and decide whether any contesting candidate has

failed to lodge the account of election expenses within the time

and in the manner required by these rules.

(5) Where, the Election Commission decides that a contesting

candidate has failed to lodge his account of election expenses

within the time and in the manner required by these rules, it shall

by notice in writing call upon the candidate to show cause why

he should not be disqualified under rule 42H for the failure.

(6) Any contesting candidate who has been called upon to

show cause under sub-rule (5) above, may within twenty days

of the receipt of such notice shall submit in respect of the matter

a representation in writing to the Election Commission, and shall

at the same time send to the Returning Officer a copy of his

representation together with a complete account of his election

expenses, if, he had not already furnished such an account.

(7) The Returning Officer shall, within five days of the receipt

thereof, forward to the Election Commission, the copy of the

representation and the account, if any, with such comments as

he wishes to make thereon.

(8) If, after considering the representation submitted by the

candidate and the comments made by the Returning Officer and

after such inquiry as it thinks fit, the Election Commission is

satisfied that the candidate has no good reason or justification

for the failure to lodge his account, it shall declare him to be

disqualified under rule 42H for a period of six years from the

date of the order, and cause the order to be published in the

Official Gazette.

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42G. Maximum Election Expenses:- (l) The total of the expenditure of which account is to be kept under rule 42A and which is incurred or authorized in connection with an election shall be fixed by the Election Commission.

42H. Disqualification for failure to Lodge Account of Election Expenses:- If, the Election Commission is satisfied that a person:-

(a) has failed to lodge an account of Election expenses within the time and in the manner required by these rules, and

(b) has no good reason or justification for the failure, the Election Commission shall, by order published in the Official Gazette, declare him to be disqualified and any such person shall be disqualified for a period of six years from the date of the order.

42I. Removal or Reduction of Period of Disqualification:- The Election Commission may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, shall remove any disqualification under this part or reduce the period of any such disqualification.

4. Amendment of Form 11.— In the said rules, For Form-ll, the

following shall be substituted namely:-

FORM-11

Letter of Intimation to Returning Officer

[see rule 29(1)]

The Returning Officer

Ward No. .................... of Village Panchayat

................ Village Panchayat

................. Commune Panchayat Council

Sir,

I intent to cast my vote by post at the ensuing election to the Member to the Ward No. .......................... of the .............................. Village Panchayat/President to the ............................................. Village Panchayat/ Member to the .............................. Commune Panchayat Council.

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My name is entered at S. No. ..................... in Part No. .................... of the electoral roll for Ward No. ............................... of Village Panchayat. The ballot paper may be sent to me at the following address:

..........................................

Yours faithfully,

Place : Signature of Voter on election duty

Date :

(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)

GIDDI BALARAM, Under Secretary to Government (Local Administration).

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