The Supreme Court on Saturday declined to pass an order in a petition moved by the Trinamool Congress against the Election Commission’s decision to deploy Union government employees as counting supervisors during the West Bengal Assembly election results, reported Live Law.
This came after the poll panel told a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi that it would comply with a circular dated April 13 on the appointment of a state government nominee for the counting of votes, according to Bar and Bench.
Recording the submission, the bench said that “no further orders are necessary”. It added that the circular should be complied with “in letter and spirit”.
Polling was held in the state in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Repolling was being held on Saturday at 15 polling stations in South 24 Parganas district that voted in the second phase of the elections.
The votes will be counted on Monday.
On Wednesday, the state chief electoral officer directed that at least one person at every counting station must be a Union government employee. The state’s ruling Trinamool Congress had moved the court against the order.
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday rejected the TMC’s petition, which argued that Union government employees are likely to be susceptible to the suggestion and control of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling party at the Centre.
It is not only the counting supervisor and the counting assistants that will be in the counting room, the High Court held. Micro observers, agents of the candidates who are contesting the elections and counting personnel will also be present there, it added.
“Thus, it is impossible to believe the allegation made by the petitioner,” it further said.
The TMC challenged the judgement in the Supreme Court on Friday.
The matter was listed for an urgent hearing on Saturday.
Representing the TMC, advocate Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that although the circular on the appointment of state government employees was issued on April 13, “we came to know on April 29”.
“They say they have an apprehension that there will be problem in every single booth,” Sibal was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench. “There is one central government nominee and now they want one more. Is this not pointing a finger at the state?”
The court said that the poll panel’s circular cannot be held to be“contrary to the regulation since one is a central government officer”.
“Because regulation say that either Central Government or state government officers can be appointed,” it added, according to Live Law.
Read Scroll’s coverage of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections here.
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