SC to hear TMC's plea against Calcutta High Court order today

TMC moved the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court dismissed its petition, upholding the decision to appoint Central government and PSU employees as counting supervisors and assistants.

The Supreme Court on Friday set up a special bench to hear the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) plea today against the Calcutta High Court's order that dismissed its plea, challenging the deployment of only Central government and PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) employees as supervisors for vote counting in the West Bengal assembly elections.

A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi will hear the plea at 10:30 am today. In its petition, TMC urged the apex court to take up the matter on an urgent basis, noting that vote counting in the poll-bound state is scheduled to begin on Monday morning and any delay would render the plea infructuous.

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TMC moved the Supreme Court after the Calcutta High Court dismissed its petition, upholding the decision to appoint Central government and PSU employees as counting supervisors and assistants.

In its ruling, the High Court observed that such appointments fall within the authority of the Election Commission of India and are not illegal. It also dismissed concerns that Central government personnel would be influenced politically, noting that the claims were speculative and unsupported by evidence.

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The court observed that any grievance can be addressed by filing an election petition under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Welcoming the dismissal of the plea, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal told ANI that the writ petition had been rejected and a copy of the order had been received. He said no political party can decide who should be included or excluded, adding that it is the Returning Officer’s discretion to appoint personnel for counting or any part of the election process.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India has announced repolling at 15 polling stations in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Fresh voting will be held on May 2 at 11 booths in the Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency and four booths in the Diamond Harbour Assembly constituency.

The decision follows reports of alleged EVM tampering at certain polling stations during the second phase of voting held on April 29.

The final phase of polling in the high-stakes Assembly elections concluded at 6 pm, with voter turnout reaching around 90 per cent before the close of voting. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.