(1) If at any time before the counting of votes is completed, any ballot papers used at a polling station or at a place fixed for the poll are unlawfully taken out of the custody of the Returning Officer or are accidentally or intentionally destroyed or lost or are damaged or tampered with, to such an extent that the result of the poll at that polling station or place cannot be ascertained, the Returning Officer shall forthwith report the matter to the Election Commission.
(2) The Election Commission shall, after taking all material circumstances into account, either—
(a) direct that the counting of votes shall be stopped or declare the poll at the polling station or place to be void and appoint a day and fix the hours, for taking a fresh poll at that polling station or place and notify the date so appointed and hours so fixed in such manner, as it may deem fit; or
(b) if satisfied that the result of a fresh poll at that polling station or place will not, in any way, affect the result of the election, issue such directions to the Returning Officer, as it may, deem proper for the resumption and completion of the counting and for the further conduct and completion of the election in relation to which the votes have been counted.
(3) The provisions of this Act and of any rules or orders made thereunder shall apply to every fresh poll ordered to be taken under clause (a) of sub-section
(2) as they apply to the original poll.
68. If, after the counting of the votes is completed, and the addition of one vote will entitle any of those candidates to be declared elected, the Returning Officer shall forthwith decide between those candidates by lot, and proceed as if the candidate on whom the lot falls had received an additional vote.
69. When the counting of the votes has been completed, the Returning Officer shall, in the absence of any direction by the Election Commission to the contrary, Declaration of Results.
Equality of votes.
Destructions loss etc. of ballot paper at the time of counting.
forthwith declare the result of the election in the manner provided by this Act or the rules made thereunder.
70. As soon as may be. after the result of an election has been declared under section 69, the Returning Officer shall report the result to the Election Commission.
71. Where a general election is held for the purpose of constituting a new Panchayat or Municipality, there shall be notified by the Election Commission in the Official Gazette, as soon as may be, after the result of the elections in all the Panchayats or the Municipalities, other than those in which the poll could not be taken for any reason on the date originally fixed under clause (d) of section 35 or for which the time for completion of the election has been extended under the provisions of section 138, have been declared by the Returning Officer under the provisions of section 54 or, as the case may be, section 69, the names of the members elected for those Panchayats or Municipalities and upon the issue of such notification, that Panchayat or Municipality, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be duly constituted:
Provided that the issue of such notification shall not be deemed—
(a) to preclude-
(i) the taking of the poll and the completion of the election in Panchayat or Municipality in which the poll could not be taken for any reason on the date originally fixed under clause (d) of section 35; or
(ii) the completion of the election in a Panchayat or a Municipality for which time has been extended under the provisions of section 138.
72. For the purposes of this Act, the date on which a candidate is declared by the Returning Officer to be elected, shall be the date of election of that candidate.
Date of election of candidate.
Publication of results.
Report of the results.
CHAPTER XII ELECTION PETITIONS