SC to hear TMC plea demanding state staff be part of vote counting supervisor duty

The Supreme Court, in a special bench, dismissed the TMC’s plea after the EC assured that the April 13 circular would be implemented in its true letter and spirit. The court stated there was no need for further orders and noted that the EC has the discretion to appoint counting personnel from either central or state pools; the counting process would include a state government employee at each counting table through randomisation.

The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that state government representatives would be part of the counting process in West Bengal. Separately, the EC deployed 165 additional counting observers and 77 police observers to oversee counting and security.

The Calcutta High Court dismissed the TMC plea, noting that EC has the prerogative to appoint counting personnel from central or state government and that such issues could be raised only through an election petition after results.

The Trinamool Congress approached the Supreme Court with an urgent appeal, contending that the April 13 circular’s timing and disclosure on April 29 undermined fair counting, and arguing the circular should have been disclosed earlier.

The Election Commission issued a circular detailing the counting process in West Bengal, stating that counting at each table would involve a mix of central and state government employees, with at least one counting supervisor or counting assistant being a Central Government/Central PSU employee.

The article notes that counting of votes in West Bengal is scheduled for May 4, 2026, a detail mentioned in relation to the pending Supreme Court hearing.

A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi is set to hear the AITC's petition against the ECI directive and other officials who issued the order on April 13. The hearing is scheduled for a special sitting on Saturday, with senior advocates including Kapil Sibal expected to argue.

The AITC filed an urgent appeal with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, requesting the constitution of a bench on Saturday (May 2) to hear the plea and seeking an interim stay of the directive.

The Calcutta High Court dismissed the AITC petition challenging the EC's counting personnel directive, stating there was no illegality in appointing counting supervisors and assistants from central government and PSU employees. The court also noted the ECI has prerogative to appoint counting personnel from either central or state government, which cannot be questioned by the court.

Polling for the West Bengal Assembly was completed in the second phase on April 29.

Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly was held in the first phase of a two-phase process on April 23.

Election Commission of India issues a directive to deploy central government and PSU employees as counting personnel for the West Bengal Assembly election; the directive is later challenged by the All India Trinamool Congress.

The matter has been listed for urgent hearing on Saturday before a Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, since counting of votes is scheduled to be held on May 4. The future hearing date is May 2, 2026.

The Trinamool Congress filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Calcutta High Court's order rejecting their plea to deploy central government and PSU employees as counting supervisors for the May 4 vote count. The High Court had said appointing central or state officers as counting supervisors is the Election Commission's prerogative and stated that central officers could be used if required, while allowing the petition to be challenged via an election petition if central officers manipulated counting. It noted that the statute allows the EC to appoint staff from either the state government, the central government, or PSUs for the role. EC counsel stated that Kerala had followed a similar practice, and the High Court dismissed the petition, indicating no illegality in appointing central government/PSU staff. It also noted that micro observers and other personnel would be present in the counting room.