Calcutta High Court Upholds EC’s Power to Appoint Central Staff as Counting Supervisors

April 30, 2026 : The Calcutta High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Trinamool Congress challenging the appointment of central government employees as supervisors at vote-counting centres.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Krishna Rao held that the authority to appoint counting supervisors and assistants lies squarely with the Election Commission of India. The Court clarified that the Commission is empowered to select personnel either from the State Government, Central Government, or Central Public Sector Undertakings, depending on administrative requirements.

The Court found no illegality in the practice of appointing central government officials for these roles, rejecting the petitioner’s contention that such appointments could compromise the fairness of the counting process.

At the same time, the judgment noted that legal safeguards remain available. Referring to Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the Court observed that if it is later established that any decision of the Election Commission resulted in undue advantage and materially affected the election outcome, the result can be challenged through an election petition.

The ruling reinforces the Election Commission’s discretionary powers in managing electoral processes while preserving the statutory remedy to question results where irregularities are proven.