TMC moves Supreme Court against ECI's Central staff counting order; hearing Saturday
The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday, 1 May moved the Supreme Court, challenging the Calcutta High Court's order that dismissed its plea against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) directive to appoint Central government and Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees as counting supervisors and assistants for the West Bengal Assembly elections. The matter is scheduled to be heard on Saturday by a bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi.
Background: What the Dispute Is About
The controversy centres on a communication issued by West Bengal Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vibhu Goel, which required that at least one among the counting supervisor and counting assistant at each counting table be a Central government or Central PSU employee. The TMC argued this directive was arbitrary, lacked jurisdiction, and deviated from the ECI's own handbook — which, the party contended, does not mandate Central personnel for such roles.
The ruling party from West Bengal further argued that while micro-observers are required to be Central government or PSU employees, extending this requirement to counting supervisors and assistants was an unprecedented and state-specific overreach.
Calcutta High Court's Ruling
A single-judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao of the Calcutta High Court reserved the matter on Thursday after hearing both parties and pronounced judgment in the evening, rejecting the TMC's writ petition in its entirety. The court upheld the ECI's authority, stating:
