New Delhi, May 1: The Supreme Court has set up a special bench to hear the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) plea challenging the Calcutta High Court's decision that upheld the deployment of only Central government and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) employees as supervisors for vote-counting in the West Bengal assembly elections. The bench, comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi, is scheduled to hear the case tomorrow at 10:30 AM.

In its plea, the TMC has urged the Supreme Court to address the matter urgently, stressing that vote counting in West Bengal is set to begin on Monday morning. The party argued that any delay in hearing the plea could render it ineffective. This move comes after the Calcutta High Court rejected the party's petition, affirming the validity of the Election Commission's decision to deploy Central government and PSU employees as supervisors and assistants during the counting process.

The High Court observed that the appointments were within the discretion of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and not unlawful. The court dismissed concerns about potential political influence on Central government staff, stating that such apprehensions were unsubstantiated and could only be addressed through an election petition under Section 100 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

In response to the High Court's decision, West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, told ANI, "The writ petition has been dismissed. We have received a copy. It is not for any political party to dictate who should be included in the election process. The discretion lies with the Returning Officer, who can appoint anyone for the counting process or any other aspect of the election."

In the meantime, the Election Commission has announced repolling at 15 polling stations in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal. The repolling will take place at 11 booths in the Magrahat Paschim Assembly constituency and 4 booths in the Diamond Harbour Assembly constituency on May 2. This decision follows reports of tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at some booths during the second phase of polling held on April 29.

As the final phase of the West Bengal assembly elections concluded at 6 PM, voter turnout reached an impressive 90% before polling stations closed. The vote counting is set to take place on May 4.