Supreme Court Rejects TMC Plea Against Central Staff Deployment for Bengal Vote Counting

Bench upholds EC’s authority to appoint PSU, government employees as counting supervisors; TMC had alleged political bias

The Supreme Court on Saturday dismissed a petition filed by the All India Trinamool Congress challenging the appointment of central government and public sector undertaking employees as counting supervisors for the West Bengal Assembly elections.

A special bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi ruled that the Election Commission’s circular issued on April 13, 2026, would remain in force and that no separate court order was required on the matter.

No relief from top court

The TMC had approached the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court turned down its objections last week. The party argued that deploying only central and PSU employees as counting supervisors could influence the counting process in favour of political opponents.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for TMC, told the bench that his party did not expect justice from the Election Commission. The court, however, declined to intervene, stating that no direction could be issued to the poll body on this question.

High Court had upheld EC’s jurisdiction

The Calcutta High Court had earlier rejected the TMC’s plea, observing that the appointment of counting personnel falls squarely within the Election Commission’s jurisdiction. The court found no illegality in the move and noted that allegations of political influence on central government employees remained unsubstantiated.

The High Court had also said any grievances regarding the counting process could be raised through an election petition after the results.

EC defends its authority

Responding to the developments, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said political parties do not have the right to decide who should be part of the counting process. “The entire process is under the jurisdiction of the returning officer,” he told reporters in Kolkata.

Election Commission officials added that the April 13 circular was issued to ensure transparency and uniformity across all counting centres.

What happens next

Counting of votes for the West Bengal Assembly elections is scheduled over the coming week. With the Supreme Court’s dismissal, central government and PSU employees will continue to serve as counting supervisors across the state’s 294 constituencies.

Political observers say the ruling removes a last-minute procedural hurdle but could keep tensions high between the state government and the poll body. TMC has not indicated whether it plans to file a review petition.