'EC's Decision Fully Valid': TMC Petition Challenging Appointment of Only Central Employees for Counting Dismissed

On Thursday, the Calcutta High Court dismissed a petition filed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which alleged that the Election Commission had appointed only central government personnel as observers for the vote counting process in the Bengal Assembly elections. Presiding over the hearing, Justice Krishna Rao explicitly stated that the Election Commission's decision was entirely valid.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel—TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee—contended that no such appointments had been made in any other state where elections were held. He further argued that the Chief Electoral Officer lacked the authority to take such a step. Banerjee claimed that while state government employees had been enlisted for polling duties, an order issued by the Chief Electoral Officer had specifically excluded them from being appointed as vote-counting observers.

What did the Election Commission say?

During the proceedings, the counsel representing the Election Commission submitted that the Commission was taking all measures strictly within the framework of established rules and laws. However, the counsel argued that the petitioner's sole objective in this instance was merely to delay the vote-counting process. While hearing the matter, the Court also observed that insufficient evidence had been presented to substantiate the allegations made by the petitioner.

Nevertheless, while dismissing the petition, the Court clarified that should concrete evidence of any irregularities or rigging in the vote counting emerge in the future, such issues could be challenged through an election petition.

Petition filed regarding changes in polling station locations

Separately, a petition has also been filed in the High Court by advocate Bishwarup Bhattacharya regarding the sudden relocation of polling stations. The petition asserts that such actions are in violation of established rules. The High Court has reserved its verdict in this matter as well. The Bengal Assembly elections were conducted in two phases on April 23 and April 29, and the votes are scheduled to be counted on May 4.