Calcutta High Court directs ECI to ensure no contractual state govt staff is assigned counting duty

Kolkata: On the eve of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, the Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that no contractual staff is assigned any sort of counting duty on Tuesday.

The single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha said in its order that the definition of contractual staff will include Anganwadi workers, para-teachers, and civic volunteers.

Justice Sinha also directed the ECI to ensure that the deployment of people for the counting process is done by strictly adhering to the norms specified in the rules framed by the poll panel.

The BJP candidate from Howrah Lok Sabha constituency, Rathin Chakraborty, had filed a petition in the high court alleging that some contractual employees attached to the Howrah Municipal Corporation and the Bally Municipality were assigned counting duties by flouting the Commission’s norms.

His counsel argued that the ECI should ensure that its notification ordering only permanent state government employees be assigned counting duty is strictly followed.

However, the Commission’s counsel argued that there was no specific instance or evidence to show that any contractual state government employee had been assigned counting duty.

After hearing both sides, Justice Sinha directed the Commission to ensure that no contractual staff is assigned counting duty on Tuesday.