Summary of this article
The Supreme Court ruled that the Election Commission has the legal authority to select counting personnel from central government pools.
Justices disposed of the TMC's petition after the poll body assured that the April 13 circular would be implemented in letter and spirit.
The decision confirms that a mix of central and state employees will manage the counting for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly on May 4.
The Supreme Court on Saturday declined to intervene in the Election Commission’s decision to deploy central government personnel for vote counting in West Bengal, stating that no further orders were necessary on the matter. According to PTI, a special bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi ruled that the poll body’s April 13 circular was not incorrect and that the Commission retains the authority to select counting personnel.
The ruling followed a challenge by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) against a Calcutta High Court order which had previously dismissed the party’s petition. The TMC had raised concerns over the Election Commission (EC) directive to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from central government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees rather than solely using state government staff.
During the special hearing, the Election Commission assured the court that the circular would be implemented in "letter and spirit." Counsel for the poll body argued that the TMC’s apprehensions of wrongdoing were misplaced, clarifying that the procedure involves a mix of central and state government employees. PTI reported that senior advocate D S Naidu, representing the EC, noted that the returning officer—typically a state government employee—retains overarching power to deploy staff from any pool of government workers.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, informed the bench that although the circular was dated April 13, the party only became aware of it on April 29. While Sibal stated he sought the strict implementation of the circular as written, Justice Bagchi questioned why the TMC remained before the court if they were now seeking compliance with the original directive.
The bench observed that the EC is entitled to choose personnel from a central government pool and found no illegality in the instruction. Consequently, the plea was disposed of. On April 30, the Calcutta High Court had similarly found no fault in the poll panel’s decision to utilise PSU and central staff.
Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly concluded in two phases on April 23 and April 29. As PTI reported, the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.
(With inputs from PTI)
