Government of India Act 1935

PART IV Bengal.

General requirement as to residence.

1 (1) A person shall not be qualified, to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency unless he has a place of residence in that constituency:

Provided that—

(a) in the case of a Calcutta constituency, the provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed to be complied with in relation to any person if he has a place of residence in Calcutta and a place of business within the constituency ;

(b) in the case of a European constituency, the provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed to be complied with in relation to any person if he is actually employed anywhere in Bengal but is absent from Bengal on leave from his employment.

(2) In this paragraph " a place of residence " means a place where a person ordinarily and actually resides during the greater part of the year.

Qualifications dependent on taxation.

2 Subject to the provisions of Part I of this Schedule and to any overriding provisions of this Part of this Schedule, a person shall be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he—

(a) has paid before the expiration of the previous year any sum as tax under the Bengal Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1932, in respect of that year; or

(b) was assessed during the previous year to income tax; or

(c) was during the previous year entered in the municipal assessment book or licence register, or any other authorised register maintained by the corporation of Calcutta, as having paid in respect of that year either directly or indirectly any sum as consolidated rate, tax or licence fee to the corporation; or

(d) has paid during and in respect of the previous year municipal or cantonment taxes or fees of not less than eight annas, or road and public works cesses under the Cess Act, 1880, of not less than eight annas, or Chaukidari tax under the Village Chaukidari Act, 1870, of not less than six annas, or union rate under the Bengal Village Self-Government Act, 1919, of not less than six annas.

Qualifications dependent on property.

3 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll of any territorial constituency if at any time during the previous financial or Bengali year he has occupied by virtue of his employment a house in the Province the annual valuation of which is not less than forty-two rupees.

In this paragraph " annual valuation " means the annual rental of the house as ascertained from any accounts of the employer of the person in question which are required by or under any law to be regularly audited or, if the annual valuation is not so ascertainable, one-tenth of the annual remuneration received by the person in question for the employment by virtue of which he occupies it.

Educational qualification.

4 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he is proved in the prescribed manner to have passed the matriculation examination of any prescribed university, or an examination prescribed as at least equivalent to any such examination, or if it is so prescribed, any other prescribed examination, not lower than a final middle school examination.

Qualification by reason of service in His Majesty's forces.

5 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if he is a retired, pensioned or discharged officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier of His Majesty's regular military forces.

Additional qualifications for women.

6 Subject as aforesaid, a person who is a woman shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any territorial constituency if she is the pensioned widow or the pensioned mother of a person who was an officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier of His Majesty's regular military forces or if her husband possesses the qualifications requisite for the purposes of this paragraph or if she is shown in the prescribed manner to be literate :

Provided that, in relation to the original preparation of electoral rolls and revisions thereof within three years from the commencement of Part III of this Act, this paragraph shall have effect as if the words " or if she is shown in the prescribed manner to be literate " were omitted therefrom.

7 In relation to a Calcutta constituency, a husband shall be deemed to possess the qualifications requisite for the purposes of the last preceding paragraph if—

(a) he was during the previous year entered in the municipal assessment book as the owner and occupier of any land or building in Calcutta separately numbered and valued for assessment purposes at not less than one hundred and fifty rupees per annum, or as the owner or occupier of any land or building in Calcutta separately numbered and valued for assessment purposes at not less than three hundred rupees per annum and paid during that year his share of the consolidated rate on the land or building; or

(b) he has paid during and in respect of the previous year on his sole account and in his own name not less than twenty-four rupees either in respect of the taxes levied under Chapter XI, or in respect of the taxes levied under Chapter XII, of the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1923; or

(c) his name is entered in the municipal assessment book in respect of any land or building in Calcutta in respect of which not less than twenty-four rupees was paid in the previous year in respect of the consolidated rate.

8 In relation to an urban constituency which is not a Calcutta constituency, a husband shall be deemed to possess the qualifications requisite for the said purposes if, during and in respect of the previous year, he paid, in the municipality of Howrah, municipal taxes or fees of not less than three rupees, or, in any other municipal area or cantonment in the Province, municipal or cantonment taxes or fees of not less than one rupee, eight annas.

9 In relation to a rural constituency, a husband shall be deemed to possess the qualifications requisite for the said purposes if, during and in respect of the previous year, he paid not less than one rupee, eight annas in respect of municipal taxes or fees, or not less than one rupee in respect of road and public works cesses under the Cess Act, 1880, or not less than two rupees in respect of Chaukidari tax under the Village Chaukidari Act, 1870, or in respect of union rate under the Bengal Village Self-Government Act, 1919.

10 In relation to any territorial constituency, a husband shall be deemed to possess the qualifications requisite for the said purposes if he either is a retired pensioned or discharged officer, non-commissioned officer or soldier of His Majesty's regular military forces or was assessed in the previous year to income tax, or paid before the expiration of the previous year any sum as tax under the Bengal Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1932, in respect of that year.

Special provisions as to Darjeeling general constituency.

11 Subject as aforesaid, a person shall also be qualified to be included in the electoral roll for any rural general constituency comprising any part of the Sadar, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions of the Darjeeling district if that person either—

(a) has paid during and in respect of the previous year rent of not less than twenty rupees for any land in the Province situate in a municipal area or for any hired building in the Province, or rent of not less than two rupees for any land in the Province not situate in a municipal area; or

(b) is the wife of a person who, during and in respect of the previous year, has paid rent of not less than sixty rupees for any land in the Province situate in a municipal area or for any hired building in the Province, or rent of not less than, six rupees for any land in the Province not situate in a municipal area.

Application necessary for enrolment in certain cases.

12 No person shall by virtue of paragraph three or paragraph four of this Part of this Schedule be included in the electoral roll of any territorial constituency, unless application is made in the prescribed manner by him, or, if it is so prescribed, on his behalf, that he should be so included.

Special provisions as to Muhammadan women's constituency.

13 No man shall be included in the electoral roll for, or be entitled to vote at any election in, any Muhammadan constituency specially formed for the election of persons to fill the seats reserved for women.

Interpretation, &c.

14 (1) In this Schedule, in relation to Bengal,—

• " Calcutta " means Calcutta as defined in paragraph 11 of section three of the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1923;

• " a Calcutta constituency " means, subject to the provisions of this paragraph with respect to Anglo-Indian constituencies, European constituencies or Indian Christian constituencies, a constituency which comprises any part of Calcutta;

• " previous year " means the previous financial year or the previous Bengali year, whichever is appropriate in the particular case;

• " Bengali year " means a year ending on the last day of the Bengali month of Chaitra.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph, an Order in Council delimiting territorial constituencies may provide that any Anglo-Indian constituency, European constituency or Indian Christian constituency comprising any part of Calcutta, shall, for all or any of the purposes of this Part of this Schedule, be deemed not to be a Calcutta constituency.

(3) Where property is held or payments are made jointly by, or assessments are made jointly on, the members of a joint family, the family shall be adopted as the unit for deciding whether the requisite qualification exists, and if it does exist the person qualified shall be, in the case of a Hindu joint family, the manager thereof, and in other cases the member authorised in that behalf by the family themselves:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply where members of a joint family have separate accommodation and separate messing, and in any such case any reference in this Part of this Schedule to any property, payment or assessment shall be construed as a reference to each member's share of that property, payment or assessment.