The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Election Commission of India's circular on deploying central government staff as counting supervisors, dealing a setback to the Trinamool Congress (TMC) before the Bengal polls results.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi observed that the ECI is within its limits to select counting personnel and that the circular 'cannot be said to be incorrect.'
The TMC had challenged the Election Commission's directive to deploy central government and PSU employees as counting personnel for the West Bengal polls, but the top court declined to pass any further directions in the matter.
The ECI assured the court that its April 13 circular on the deployment of central staff would be implemented 'in letter and spirit,' and that the returning officer, a state government employee, retains overarching authority during the counting process.
