New Delhi, 02 May (H.S.): The Supreme Court of India today dismissed the Trinamool Congress's (TMC) urgent petition challenging the Election Commission's authority to deploy central government personnel for vote counting in the impending West Bengal assembly elections, affirming that no additional judicial intervention is warranted.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi underscored the EC's prerogative in selecting counting supervisors, ruling that the poll body's April 13 circular—allowing a blend of central and state employees—aligns fully with electoral norms and merits no correction.
The court observed that TMC representatives will be present throughout the counting process, thereby safeguarding transparency, and urged the party to accord due credibility to central staff as impartial government functionaries.
Addressing TMC's apprehensions of bias, the EC clarified that its directive explicitly mandates mixed staffing to prevent any malfeasance, a commitment the bench formally recorded for strict adherence ahead of the May 4 counting.
This ruling follows the Calcutta High Court's prior rejection of a similar TMC interlocutory application, reinforcing that such personnel choices fall squarely within the EC's administrative domain.
Under standard procedures, vote tallies commence with postal ballots under the Returning Officer's direct oversight, followed by Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after a 30-minute interval, with results declared round-by-round from sets of 14 machines.
Party agents, limited to authorized observers, monitor the unsealing of strong rooms and EVM verification, including Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) matching for randomly selected units, ensuring robust checks against tampering.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
