Deploying teachers for election duties, including SIR, won't violate right to education: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently held that the deployment of teachers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or for election-related duties, including those connected to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, does not violate right to education [Azra Parveen And 4 Others vs State Of UP And 3 Others].

The Court rejected a contention that the diversion of teachers for election-related duties violates their students' right to education under Article 21A of the Constitution.

Justice Vinod Diwakar, therefore, dismissed a writ petition moved by five assistant teachers from Saharanpur who sought detachment from election-related duties so they could focus exclusively on classroom teaching.

"Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 expressly permits the deployment of teachers for election-related duties, and BLO duties fall within this exception. The submission based on Article 21-A and the RTE Rules is, therefore, misconceived," the Court held.

The petitioners, serving as Assistant Teachers in Junior and Senior Basic Schools in District Saharanpur, had approached the High Court seeking a direction to restrain authorities from assigning them BLO duties or interfering with their regular academic functions.

They argued that their terms and conditions of service contained no provision permitting non-teaching deployments.

They further contended that requisitioning teachers for voter-roll revisions contravened Article 21-A of the Constitution of India and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), alongside its governing rules, by diverting educators from their core obligation to teach.

Reliance was also placed on a departmental communication dated September 3, 2012.

Rejecting these arguments as misconceived, the High Court highlighted that the preparation and revision of electoral rolls is a sovereign statutory exercise under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, carried out under the superintendence of the Election Commission of India pursuant to Article 324 of the Constitution.

The Bench observed that under Section 13CC of the 1950 Act, State government staff deployed for the preparation and revision of electoral rolls are statutorily deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for that duration.

The Court further noted that the petitioners had placed nothing on record to substantiate that their assignment as BLOs had caused actual prejudice to classroom instruction or hampered the education of students.

Holding that no case was made out for the exercise of its discretionary writ jurisdiction, the Court dismissed the petition.

Advocates Narendra Kumar and Shobhit Singh represented the petitioners.

Chief Standing Counsel, Jay Prakash Singh represented the State.

[Read Judgment]