&The following shall be deemed to
be corrupt practices for the purposes of an election under this Act,
namely:&
(i) bribery, that is to say, any gift, offer or promise by a
candidate or his agent or by any other person of any
gratification to any person whomsoever with the
object, directly or indirectly, of inducing&
(a) a person to stand or not to stand as, or to
withdraw from being, a candidate or to retire
from contest at an election; or
(b) an elector to vote or refrain from voting at an
election; or as a reward to&
(i) a person for having so stood or not stood,
or for having withdrawn his candidature
or having retired from contest; or
(ii) an elector for having voted or refrained
from voting.
Explanation.&For the purpose of this clause the
term ―gratification‖ is not restricted to pecuniary
gratification or gratifications estimable in money,
and it includes all forms of entertainment and all
forms of employment for reward, but it does not
include the payment of any expenses bonafide
incurred at, or for the purpose of, any election;
(ii) Undue influence, that is to say, any direct or
indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of a candidate or his agent or of any other
person, with the free exercise of any electoral right :
Provided that&
(a) without prejudice to the generality of the
provisions of this clause any such person as is
referred to therein who-
(i) threatens any candidate, or any elector,
or any person in whom a candidate or
an elector is interested, with injury of
any kind including social ostracism and
ex-communication or of expulsion from
any caste or community; or
(ii) induces or attempts to induce a
candidate or an elector to believe that
he, or any person in whom he is
interested, will become or will be
rendered as object of divine displeasure
or spiritual censure,
shall be deemed to interfere with the free
exercise of the electoral right of such candidate
or elector within the meaning of this clause;
(b) a declaration of public policy, or a promise of
public action or the mere exercise of a legal
right without intent to interfere with an
electoral right, shall not be deemed to be
interference within the meaning of this clause;
(iii) The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any
other person with the consent of a candidate or his
election agent to vote or refrain from voting for any
person on the ground of his religion, race, caste,
community and language or the use of, or appeal to, religious symbols or the use, or appeal to national
symbols such as the national flag or the national
emblem, for the furtherance of the prospects of the
election of that candidate or for prejudicially
affecting the election of any candidate :
Provided that no symbol allotted under this
Act to a candidate shall be deemed to be a religious
symbol or a national symbol for the purpose of this
clause;
(iv) The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of
enmity or hatred between different classes of the
citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste,
community or language, by a candidate or his agent
or any other person with the consent of a candidate
or his election agent for the furtherance of the
prospects of the election of that candidate or for
prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate;
(v) The propagation of the practice or the commission
of sati or its glorification by a candidate or his agent
or any other person with the consent of the
candidate or his election agent for the furtherance of
the prospects of the election of that candidate or for
prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate.
Explanation.&For the purposes of this
clause, ―sati‖ and ―glorification‖ in relation to sati
shall have the meaning respectively assigned to
them in the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act,
1987 (Central Act No. 3 of 1988);
(vi) The publication by a candidate or his agent or by
any other person of any statement of fact which is
false, and which he either believes to be false or does not believe to be true, in relation to the
candidature or withdrawal or retirement from
contest of any candidate, being a statement
reasonably calculated to prejudice the prospects of
that candidate‘s election;
(vii) The hiring or procuring, whether on payment or
otherwise, of any vehicle or vessel by a candidate or
his agent or by any other person for the conveyance
of any elector (other than the candidate himself, any
member of his family or his agent), to or from any
polling station or place fixed for the poll :
Provided that the hiring of a vehicle or
vessel by an elector or by several electors at their
joint cost for the purpose of conveying him or them
to or from any such polling station or place fixed for
the poll shall not be deemed to be a corrupt practice
under this clause if the vehicle or vessel so hired is
a vehicle or vessel not propelled by mechanical
power:
Provided further that the use of any public
transport vehicle or vessel or any tram, car or
railway carriage by any elector at his own cost for
the purpose of going to or coming from any such
polling station or place shall not be deemed to be a
corrupt practice under this clause.
Explanation.& In this clause the expression
―vehicle‖ means any vehicle used or capable of
being used for the purpose of road transport whether
propelled by mechanical power or otherwise and
whether used for drawing other vehicles or
otherwise; (viii) The incurring or authorizing by a candidate or his
agent or by any other person of expenditure in
contravention of the provision of any rule or order
relating to election made under this Act;
(ix) The obtaining or procuring or abetting or attempting
to obtain or procure by a candidate or his agent or
by any other person any assistance (other than the
giving of vote) for the furtherance of the prospects
of the candidate‘s election from any person in the
service of the Government and belonging to any of
the following classes, namely:&
(a) Gazetted Officers;
(b) Members of the armed forces of the Union;
(c) Members of the police force;
(d) Excise Officers;
(e) Revenue Officers including Patwaries and like;
and
(f) Such other class of persons in the service of the
Government as may be prescribed.
Explanation.& (i) For the purposes of clause (ix), a person
shall be deemed to assist in the furtherance of the prospects of a
candidate‘s election if he acts as an election agent or polling agent
or counting agent of that candidate;
(ii) In this section, the expression ―agent‖ includes an
election agent, a polling agent and any person who is held to have
acted as an agent in connection with the election with the consent
of the candidate.
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