(1) The Returning Officer shall first deal with the postal ballot papers forwarded to him under Rule 52 as specified below:-
(a) No cover referred to in Rule 52 received by the Returning Officer, after the expiry of the time fixed in that behalf, shall be opened and no vote contained in any such cover shall be counted.
(b) The outer covers shall be opened one after another and the election duty certificates and declaration under Rule 52 contained therein shall be collected together, counted and sealed in a separate packet.
(c) The inner covers containing the marked ballot papers shall, then, be opened one after another and the voters counted. If the declaration is not found or has not been duly signed or is otherwise substantially defective, that inner cover shall not be opened and after making an appropriate endorsement thereon, the Returning Officer shall reject the ballot paper contained therein.
(2) The ballot boxes relating to each of the polling stations shall, then, be taken up for counting. The Returning Officer may in his discretion have the ballot boxes used at more than one polling station opened and their contents counted simultaneously.
(3) Before any ballot box is opened at a counting table, the counting Agents present at the table shall be allowed to inspect the paper seal and other seals on the ballot box and satisfy themselves that they are intact.
(4) The Returning Officer shall satisfy himself that none of the ballot boxes has, in fact, been tampered with.
(5) In the Returning Officer is satisfied that any ballot box has, in fact, been tampered with, shall not count the ballot papers contained in that box and shall follow the procedure laid down in Rule 57 in respect of that polling station.
(6) (a) If a fresh poll is held under Rule 57, the Returning Office shall, after completion of that poll recommence the counting of votes on the date, at the time and place which have been fixed by the District Election Officer in that behalf and of which notice has been previously given to the contesting Candidates and their election Agents.
(b) The provision of this part shall apply, so far as may be, to such further counting.
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(7) The Returning Officer shall allow the Candidates and their Agents reasonable opportunities to inspect, without handling, all ballot papers which in his opinion are liable to be rejected under Rule 63. He shall endorse on every ballot paper which he rejects, the letter ‘R’ and the ground of rejection in abbreviated form either in his own handwriting or by means of a rubber stamp and shall initial such endorsement.
(8) he shall verify the ballot paper account submitted by the Presiding Officer under sub-rule (4) (a) of Rule 58.