The BRICS TimesMamata Banerjee’s party suffers a major legal blow just days before West Bengal’s May 4 vote count as India’s top court backs the Election Commission’s decision to deploy central government staff at counting tables.
TMC Rushes to Supreme Court in Final Hours
The political temperature in West Bengal shot up dramatically on Saturday. The Trinamool Congress ruling the state under Mamata Banerjee ran out of legal road when the Supreme Court refused to step in. The party had challenged an Election Commission circular allowing central government and PSU employees to serve as counting supervisors and assistants. A special Saturday bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi heard the urgent plea. The court made its position clear no further orders were necessary. The EC’s April 13 circular, it said, was not contrary to any existing rules.
What the EC’s Circular Actually Said
The entire row traces back to an EC directive. It mandated that at every counting table, at least one official either the supervisor or the assistant must come from the central government or a public sector undertaking. The TMC found out about this circular on April 29 even though it was dated April 13. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the party, argued this was a late disclosure. “This circular is issued to the DEO, and we came to know on April 29. On the contrary, advance notice is given. They say they have an apprehension that there will be a problem in every single booth. There is one central government nominee, and now they want one more. Circular says state government nominee is needed, but they don’t appoint it,” Sibal submitted.
The Court Holds Its Ground
Justice Bagchi was direct in his reading of the law. The regulatory framework, he noted, gave the Election Commission full discretion it could appoint counting staff from either central or state government rolls. That option remained open. The EC, for its part, assured the court that the circular would be followed in letter and spirit. It also told the bench that the returning officer a state government employee holds overarching authority over the entire counting process. The TMC’s fears of wrongdoing, the EC maintained, were misplaced.
Calcutta High Court Had Already Said No
This was not TMC’s first courtroom setback on this issue. The Calcutta High Court had earlier dismissed the party’s petition on April 30. A single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao ruled there was no illegality in deploying central government and PSU employees as counting staff. The judge pointed to Clause 15.7.9 of the Handbook for Returning Officers which explicitly allows counting supervisors and assistants from either central or state government services. The TMC’s argument of possible bias because central employees fall under the BJP-led Union government did not convince the court. Mere apprehension of bias, the high court held, cannot justify interference in the electoral process.
Bias Argument Falls Flat
TMC’s core concern was a political one. The party argued that central employees, working under the administrative control of a BJP-run Union government, could be susceptible to influence. This would tilt the playing field against them. But both courts the Calcutta High Court and then the Supreme Court found no legal merit in that fear. The EC reminded the court that a mix of central and state government employees would be present, and that the returning officer from the state retains full overarching powers.
Eyes Now Turn to May 4
West Bengal voted in two phases April 23 and April 29 across all 294 assembly seats. The counting of votes will take place on May 4. With the Supreme Court closing the door on any last-minute legal intervention, the EC’s counting framework stands as is. For Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, this is a double blow first in the High Court, then in the Supreme Court. The party will now have to live with the counting arrangement it fought hard to overturn and wait for the results to do the talking.
