Provided that proceedings of election of Vice-President, or any of the Committees under the Act shall not be stayed, pending the election of such seat.

Election petitions.-

1. (1) No election or nomination under this Act shall be called into question except by a petition presented in accordance with the provisions of this section.
2. (2) Such petition may be presented on one or more of he grounds specified in section 22-
   • (a) by any candidate at such election or nomination; or
   • (b) (i) in the case of an election of a councilor, by any voter of the ward concerned;
     • (ii) in the case of a nomination of Councillor, by any Councillor;
     • (iii) in the case of election of President by any voter of the Municipal area; to the District Judge, where such election or nomination is held within the revenue district in which the Court of the District Judge is situate, and in any other case, to the Additional District Judge having the permanent seat of his Court within the revenue district in which such election or nomination is held and if there be more than one such Additional District Judge within the said revenue district, to such one of them as the District Judge may specify for the purpose(herein after such district Judge or Additional District Judge referred to as judge.
3. (3) No petition presented under sub-section (2), shall be admitted unless-
   • (i) it is presented within thirty days from the date on which the result of such election or nomination was notified in the Gazette; and
   • (ii) it is accompanied by a Government Treasury receipt showing a deposit of two hundred rupees, in the case of election or nomination to Municipal Council and one hundred rupees, in the case of election or nomination to Nagar Panchayat.
4. (4) A petitioner shall join as respondents to his petition-
   • (a) where the petitioner, in addition to claiming a declaration that the election or nomination,

as the case may be, of all or any of the returned candidates is void, claims a further declaration

that he himself or any other candidate has been duly elected or nominated, all the contesting candidates other than the petitioner, and where no such further declaration is claimed, all the returned candidates; and

1. (b) any other candidate against whom allegations of any corrupt practice are made in the petition.

1. (5) an election petition shall-
   • (a) contain a concise statement of the material facts on which the petitioner relies;
   • (b) set forthwith sufficient particulars, the ground or grounds on which the election or nomination is called in question;
   • (c) be signed by the petitioner and verified in the manner prescribed in the Code of Civil procedure,1908 (V of 1908), for the verification of pleadings.