Returning Officer

(1) For every constituency, for every election to fill a seat or seats in a Panchayat or a Municipality, the Election Commission shall, in consultation with the State Government, designate or nominate an officer of the State Government or of a local authority as a Returning Officer or one or more Assistant Returning Officers: Provided that the Election Commission may designate or nominate the same person to be the Returning Officer or Assistant Returning Officer for more than one constituency. (2) Every Assistant Returning Officer shall, subject to the control of the Returning Officer, be competent to perform all or any of the functions of the Returning Officer: Provided that no Assistant Returning Officer shall perform any of the functions of the Returning Officer which relate to the scrutiny of nominations, unless the Returning Officer is unavoidably prevented from performing such functions and it is necessary in the public interest to perform such functions.