aag

(1) A person shall be deemed to have committed a corrupt practice who directly or indirectly by himself or by any other person— (a) induces or attempts to induce by fraud, intentional misrepresentation, coercion or threat of injury, any voter to give or to refrain from giving a vote in favour of any candidate ; (b) with a view to inducing any voter to give or to refrain from giving a vote in favour of any candidate, or in consideration of any voter having voted or refrained from voting for any candidate, offers or gives any money or valuable consideration of any place or employment or holds out any promise of individual advantage or profit to any person including a promise of spiritual salvation ; (c) induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered an object of divine displeasure or of spiritual censure with a view to influence him in any way in connection with the election ; (d) systematically appeals to vote or refrain from voting on grounds of caste, race, community or religion or uses or appeals to religious and national symbols, such as, the national flag and the national emblem, for the furtherance of the prospects of a candidate’s election ; (e) employs, instigates or threatens any form of social boycott of any voter or candidate or of any one in which such voter or candidate is interested ; (f) gives or procures the giving of a vote in the name of a voter who is not the person giving such a vote ; (g) offers any money or valuable consideration to any person to induce him to withdraw from being a candidate at an election or being a candidate accepts any money or valuable consideration so offered ; (h) abets (within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code) the doing of any of the acts specified in clauses (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g). Explanations—(i) A ‘promise of individual advantage or profit to a person’ includes a promise for the benefit of the person himself or of any one in whom he is interested, but does not include a promise to further propose or to vote for or against any particular Anchal Sasan measure or work. (ii) No agent, clerk, messenger or other person who may in accordance with prescribed rules be employed for remuneration by a candidate at an election shall, by reason of such employment alone, be deemed to come within the provisions of this section. (iii) A corrupt practice shall be deemed to have been committed by a candidate if it has been committed with his knowledge or consent or by a person who is acting under the general or special authority of such candidate with reference to the election. (2) Every person who is guilty of a corrupt practice at or in connection with an election held under the provisions of this Act shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine or with both.