Costs may be awarded
46. It shall be lawful for the said Courts respectively to award to the party petitioning, or to the candidate against whom the petition shall have been presented, such reasonable costs and expenses as such Court may deem fit; and such costs and expenses when awarded under the hand of the President, shall be recoverable by action of debt from the party by such award made liable to pay the same.
Complaints of undue returns to be by petition to the Legislative Council or House of Assembly
47. All complaints of the undue return of Members to serve in the Legislative Council or House of Assembly, shall be addressed in the form of a petition to the said Legislative Council and House of Assembly respectively; and no petition shall be noticed, nor any proceedings had thereon, unless it shall have been so presented by a person who was a candidate at the election whereof it may be alleged that an undue return has been made, or by a number of persons who either voted or were qualified to have voted at the said election, amounting to not less than one-tenth of the whole number on the roll of electors; and no petition shall be noticed which shall not be presented within twenty-one days from the day of election, or one week from the meeting of Parliament which shall last happen.
Petition to be referred to Court
48. Any such petition shall, within ten days after the same shall have been duly received, be referred to the Court above-mentioned, appointed by the House to which the said petition shall be addressed.
Proceedings of Courts on petitions
49. The said Courts respectively, in hearing and deciding on the merits of every such petition, shall be guided by the principles of good faith and equity, and shall receive or reject at their discretion any evidence that may be tendered to them, and shall have power to compel the attendance of witnesses and to examine them on oath; and if any such Court shall declare that any person was not duly elected who was returned as elected by the Returning Officer of any Electoral District, the person so declared to have been not duly elected shall cease to be a Member of the Legislative Council or House of Assembly, as the case may be; and if such Court shall declare any person to have been duly elected who was not returned by any Returning Officer, the person so declared to be duly elected shall be sworn a Member of the said Legislative Council or House of Assembly, as the case may be, and take his seat accordingly; and if such Court shall declare any election to have been absolutely void, the President or Speaker, on the same being certified to him by the President of the Court, shall forthwith cause to be issued a new writ for the holding of another election for such district.
