West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 | EC can choose counting personnel: SC rejects TMC's plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Saturday declined to entertain a plea by West Bengal's ruling party, All India Trinamool Congress against the Election Commission's circular to appoint central government staff as supervisor and assistant during the counting of votes of Assembly polls scheduled on May 4, 2026.

The apex court disposed of the plea, which challenged the Calcutta High Court's April 30, 2026 decision, saying no further orders were necessary.

A special bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi observed that the Election Commission was within its rights to choose counting personnel and that its April 13 circular could not be faulted.

The court said that TMC should give the government employees some credence.

"There is yet another fallacy in the argument that those belonging to the state government have a different allegiance…these are employees,'' the bench said.

The poll panel informed the court that the circular clearly provided for a mix of central and state government employees, and rejected the TMC’s apprehensions of wrongdoing as misplaced.

The EC also assured the bench that the circular would be implemented in letter and spirit.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, submitted that the party came to know about the April 13 circular only on April 29.

He urged the court to ensure its implementation as issued.

The bench, however, pointed out that the Election Commission could select counting personnel from the central government pool.

Senior advocate D S Naidu, representing the EC, emphasised that the returning officer — a state government employee — had overarching powers to deploy personnel from any pool of government employees.

Justice Bagchi questioned the necessity of approaching the apex court if the TMC wanted compliance with the circular. The bench eventually disposed of the petition, noting that no further orders were required.

The bench said it cannot hold that this notification is contrary to the regulation since one is a central government officer, but the others are not. "To choose wholly from one pool cannot be said to be incorrect," the bench said.

The bench asked Sibal, "What is this proportionate representation concept?" However, Sibal pressed that the state government nominee has not been appointed.

"So have you written to them... You were challenging the circular and now you are saying to follow it,'' the bench said.

"No further order was necessary, except to reiterate Naidu’s statement that the circular dated April 13 would be implemented in letter and spirit," the court said in its order.

The Calcutta High Court had on April 30 dismissed the TMC’s petition, holding there was no illegality in the EC’s decision to appoint counting supervisors and assistants from central government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees instead of state government staff.

West Bengal’s 294-member Assembly went to polls in two phases on April 23 and April 29.

The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

AITC was aggrieved with the order issued by Additional Chief Electoral Officer for lacking jurisdiction to issue such an order.

The plea contended the direction issued by the officer went against the EC's handbook, which did not required used of central government staff for the roles.

Though micro-observers are required to be central government or PSU employees, extending this requirement to counting supervisors and assistants was arbitrary and unique to West Bengal, the plea contended.

It also contended since the central government is controlled by a political party, central employees may be susceptible to influence, affecting the level playing field.

The plea sought a stay on the High Court's April 30, 2026 judgment and the April 13, 2026 communication. In the alternative, it also sought a direction to deploy both central and state government employees as counting supervisors and assistants at each counting table.

The plea also sought a direction to preserve CCTV footage of all counting rooms during the pendency of the proceedings.