Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act,1952
Act No : 31
Section :
Public notice of election.
5. Public notice of election. 1[5. On the issue of a notification under sub-section (1) of section 4, the, returning officer for the election shall give public notice of the intended election in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, inviting nominations of candidates for such election and specifying the place at which the nomination papers are to be delivered. 5A. Nomination of candidates. Any person may be nominated as a candidate for election to the office of President or Vice-President if he is qualified to be elected to that office under the Constitution. 5B. Presentation of nomination papers and requirements for a valid nomination. (1) On or before the date appointed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4, each candidate shall, either in person or by any of his proposers or seconders, between the hours of eleven o'clock in the forenoon and three o'clock in the afternoon, deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the public notice issued under section 5 a nomination paper completed in the prescribed form and subscribed by the candidate as assenting to the nomination, and (a) in the case of Presidential election, also by at least 2fifty electors as proposers and at least ten electors seconders; (b) in the case of Vice-Presidential election, also by at least 3twenty electors as proposers and at least twenty electors as seconders: Provided that no nomination paper shall be presented to the returning officer on a day which is a public holiday. (2) Each nomination paper shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the entry relating to the candidate in the electoral roll for the parliamentary constituency in which the candidate is registered as an elector. (3) The returning officer shall not accept any nomination paper which is presented on any day before eleven o'clock in the forenoon and after three o'clock in the afternoon. (4) Any nomination paper which is not received before three o'clock in the afternoon on the last date appointed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4 or to which the certified copy referred to in sub-section (2) of this section is not attached shall be rejected and a-brief note relating to such rejection shall be recorded on the nomination paper itself. (5) No elector shall subscribe, whether as proposer or as secon- der, more than one nomination paper at the same election and, if he does, his signature shall be inoperative on any paper other than the one first delivered. (6) Nothing in this section shall prevent any candidate from being nominated by more than one nomination paper for the same election: Provided that not more, than four nomination papers shall be presented by or on behalf of any candidate or accepted by the returning officer. 5C. Deposit. (1) A candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election unless he deposits or causes to be deposited a sum of 4fifteen thousand rupees: Provided that where a candidate has been nominated by more than one nomination paper for the same election, not more than one deposit shall be required of him under this sub-section. (2) The sum required to be deposited under sub-section (1) shall not, be deemed to have been deposited under that sub-section unless at the time of presentation of the nomination paper under subsection (1) of section 5B, the candidate has either deposited or caused to be deposited that sum with the returning officer in cash or enclosed with the nomination paper a receipt showing that the said sum has been deposited by him or on his behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury. 5D. Notice of nominations and the time and place for their scrutiny. On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall- (a) sign thereon a certificate stating the date and time of presentation of the nomination paper and enter thereon its serial number; (b) inform the person or persons presenting the nomination paper of the date, time and place fixed for the scrutiny of nominations; and (c) cause to be affixed in some conspicuous place in his office a copy of the nomination paper as certified and numbered under clause (a). 5E. Scrutiny of nominations. (1) On the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations under sub-section (1) of section 4, the candidates, one proposer or one seconder of each candidate and one other person duly authorised in writing by each candidate, but no other person, shall be entitled to be present at the time of scrutiny of nominations and the returning officer shall give them all reasonable facilities for examining the nomination papers of all candidates which have not been rejected under sub-section (4) of section 5B. (2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that it small not be necessary to scrutinise on the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations the nomination papers already rejected under sub-section (4) of section 5B. (3) The returning officer shall then examine the nomination papers and shall decide all objections which may be made to any nomination paper and may, either on such objection or on his own notion, after such summary inquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary, reject any nomination on any of the following grounds:- (a) that, on the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations, the candidate is not eligible for election as President or vice-President, as the case may be, under the Constitution; or (b) that any of the proposers or seconders is not qualified to subscribe a nomination paper under sub-section (1) of section 5B; or (c) that the nomination paper is not subscribed by the required number of proposers or seconders; or (d) that the signature of the candidate or any of the proposers or seconders is not genuine or has been obtained by fraud; or (e) that there has been a failure to comply with any of he provision of section 5B or section 5C. (4) Nothing contained in clauses (b) to (e) of sub-section (3) shall be deemed to authorise the rejection of the nomination of any candidate on the ground of any irregularity in respect of a nomination paper, if the candidate has been duly nominated by means of another nomination paper in respect of which no irregularity has been committed. (5) The returning officer shall not reject any nomination paper on the ground of any defect which is not of a substantial character. (6) The returning officer shall hold the scrutiny on the date appointed in this behalf under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4 and shall not allow any adjournment of the proceedings except when such proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence or by causes beyond his control. Provided that in case an objections is raised by the returning officer or is made by any other person the candidate concerned may be allowed time to rebut it not later than the, next day but one following the date fixed for scrutiny, and the returning officer shall record his decision on the date to which the proceedings have been adjourned. (7) The returning officer shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting the same and if the nomination paper is rejected, shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection. (8) For the purposes of this section, a certified copy of an entry in the electoral roll for the time being in force shall be conclusive evidence of the fact that the person referred to in that entry is an elector for that constituency, unless it is proved, that he, is subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.]
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