Bengal polls: Supreme Court refuses to pass orders on TMC plea over EC directive on counting supervisors

The Supreme Court on Saturday refused to pass any orders on the TMC's petition against appointment of Central government employees as counting supervisors during counting of votes scheduled on May 4 after the Election Commission assured that its circular on the issue will be followed in letter and spirit.

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"No further orders are necessary except to reiterate the statement of Mr. DS Naidu (senior counsel representing the EC) that the circular dated April 13th 2026 will be implemented in letter and spirit," a Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said.

The top court said the Election Commission can choose counting personnel and its April 13 circular which provided for a mix of Central and state government employees cannot be said to be incorrect.

Polling for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly was held in two phases on April 23 and April 29, 2026 and the counting of votes is scheduled to take place on May 4.

In a special sitting on Saturday, the Bench took up the TMC plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's April 30 order dismissing its petition against the Chief Electoral Officer's decision to deploy only Central government employees as counting supervisors.

On behalf of the TMC, senior advocate Kapil Sibal questioned the legality of the Election Commission's decision, saying the exclusion of state government employees was illegal. He said the EC kept it secret and announced the April 13 decision only on April 29.