18. Grounds for declaring the election of a returned candidate to be void.-
(1) If the Supreme Court is of opinion,-
(a) that the offence of bribery or undue influence at the election has been committed by the returned candidate or by any person with the consent of the returned candidate; or
(b) that the result of the election has been materially affected-
(i) by the improper reception or refusal of a vote; under this Act; or
(ii) by any non-compliance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act or of any rules or orders made;
(iii) by reason of the fact that the nomination of any candidate (other than the successful candidate), who has not withdrawn his candidature, has been wrongly accepted; or
(c) that the nomination of any candidate has been wrongly rejected or the nomination of the successful candidate has been wrongly accepted; the Supreme Court shall declare the election of the returned candidate to be void.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the offences of bribery and undue influence at an election have the same meaning as in Chapter IXA of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
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