(1) The Returning Officer or such other officer authorised by him in this behalf, shall exclude from the place fixed for counting of votes all persons except:-
(a) such persons as he may appoint to assist him in the counting;
(b) person authorised by the State Election Commission or the District Election Officer (Panchayats);
(c) public servants on duty in connection with the election; and
(d) candidates, their election agents and counting agents.
(2) No person who has been employed by or on behalf of, or has been otherwise working for a candidate in or about the election shall be appointed under clause (a) of sub-rule (1).
(3) The Returning Officer or such other officers authorised by him in this behalf, shall decide which counting agent or agents shall watch the counting at any particular counting table or group of counting tables.
(4) Any person, who during the counting of votes misconducts himself or fails to obey the lawful directions of the Returning Officer or such other officers authorised by him in this behalf may be removed from the place where the votes are being counted, by the Returning Officer, or by any police officer on duty or by any person authorised in this behalf by the Returning Officer.
1 [73-A. Counting of votes received through poll duty ballot papers.- (1) The Returning Officer shall at the first instance deal with the poll duty ballot papers in the manner hereinafter provided.
1 . Rule 73-A inserted vide inserted vide Not. No. PCH- HA(1)- 18/2008, dated 8 th September, 2010, published in Rajpatra, Himachal Pradesh, dated 10 th of September, 2010 page . 4456-4467.
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(2) No cover in Form-28D received by the Returning Officer after the expiry of the time fixed in this behalf shall be opened and no vote contained in such a cover shall be counted.
(3) The other covers shall be opened one after another and as each cover is opened, the Returning Officer shall first scrutinize the declaration in Form-28B contained therein and if the said declaration is not found, or has not been duly signed and attested, or is otherwise substantially defective, or if the serial number of the ballot paper as entered in it differs from the serial number endorsed on the cover in Form-28C, that cover shall not be opened, and after making an appropriate endorsement thereon, the Returning Officer shall reject the ballot paper contained therein.
(4) Each cover so endorsed and the declaration received with it shall be replaced in the cover in Form-28D and all such covers in Form-28D shall be kept in a separate packet which shall be sealed and on which shall be recorded the name of the constituency, the date of counting and a brief description of its content.
(5) The Returning Officer shall then place all the declarations in Form-28B which he has found to be in order in a separate packet which shall be sealed before any cover in Form-28C is opened and on which shall be recorded the particulars referred to in sub-rule (4).
(6) The covers in Form-28D not already dealt with under the foregoing provisions of this rule shall then be opened one after another and the Returning Officer shall scrutinize each ballot paper and decide the validity of the vote recorded thereon.
(7) A poll duty ballot paper shall be rejectedif it bears any mark other than mark to record the vote or writing by which the elector can be identified; or
(a) if it bears any mark other than mark to record the vote or writing by which the elector can be identified; or
(b) if no vote is recorded thereon; or
(c) if votes are recorded in favour of more candidates than one; or
(d) if it is a spurious ballot paper; or
(e) if it is so damaged or mutilated that its identity as a genuine ballot paper cannot be established; or
(f) if it is not returned in the cover sent along with it to the elector by the Returning Officer.
(8) A vote recorded on a poll duty ballot paper shall be rejected if the mark indicating the vote is placed on the ballot paper in such a manner as to make it doubtful to which candidate the vote has been recorded.
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(9) A vote recorded on a poll duty ballot paper shall not be rejected merely on the ground that the mark indicating the vote is indistinct or made more than once, if the intention that the vote shall be for a particular candidate clearly appears from the way the ballot paper is marked.
(10) The Returning Officer shall count all the valid votes recorded in favour of each candidate and record the total thereof in the result sheet in- Form-32 in the case of member of Gram Panchayats;
Form-34 in the case of Pradhan/Up Pradhan;
Form-36 in the case of member of Panchayat Samiti ; and Form-38 in the case of member of Zila Parishad, and announce the same.
(11) All the valid ballot papers and the rejected ballot papers shall be separately bundled and kept together in a packet which shall be sealed with the seals of the Returning Officer and the candidates or their election agents or counting agents, if they desire to affix their seals thereon, and on the packet so sealed the name of the constituency, the date of counting and a brief description of its contents shall be recorded.".]