In a major setback to the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Supreme Court on Saturday clarified that the Election Commission of India (EC) has the prerogative to choose the pool of officers for deployment at vote-counting centres.
Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices J Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi observed that even if both the counting supervisor and counting agent are central government officers, the relevant circular cannot be struck down on that ground alone.
SC Upholds EC’s Authority On Staff Selection
“The option is open that the counting supervisor and counting assistant may be of the central government or may be of the state government. So when that option is open we can’t hold that the notification is contrary to regulations," Justice Bagchi stated.
Following these observations, the TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, took a U-turn in its stand and sought the strict implementation of the Election Commission’s circular. The EC, in turn, assured the court that the guidelines are being followed properly.
EC Assures Balanced Deployment At Counting Centres
“We have done the arrangement in such a way that when counting supervisor is central govt then the counting agent is the state govt," said DS Naidu appearing for the Election Commission.
The TMC had earlier challenged a Calcutta High Court order that upheld the deployment of central government and PSU employees as counting supervisors and assistants for the May 4 exercise in West Bengal.
TMC Raises Concerns Over Staff Selection Process
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC, outlined four key objections before the apex court. He argued that a notice regarding the deployment was issued to District Election Officers (DEOs) on April 13, but the party became aware of it only on April 29, limiting its ability to respond in time.
Sibal further questioned the basis of the authorities’ apprehension that disturbances could occur at counting booths. “The second point is that they have an apprehension. That there is going to be trouble in every booth. Where do they get their operation from? This is shocking," he told the court.
Raising a third concern, Sibal pointed out that central government officials are already present at each counting table as micro-observers. “Now why do they want another Central Government officer?" he asked.
Finally, he argued that the Election Commission’s own circular provides for the inclusion of state government officials in the counting process, but alleged that such appointments have not been made. “…The circular itself says that you also should have a state government officer but they don’t appoint a state government nominee," Sibal submitted.
The HC had earlier dismissed the TMC’s plea, finding no “illegality" in appointing central government or central PSU employees for counting duties instead of state personnel.
