Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court teachers election duties ruling has clarified that government school teachers can be assigned election-related responsibilities, including Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, without automatically violating students’ right to education.
The court dismissed a petition filed by five assistant teachers from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, who challenged their appointment as Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
BLO SIR Duties: Allahabad High Court Dismisses Plea By Five Teachers
The Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by five assistant teachers working in junior and senior basic schools in Saharanpur district.
The teachers had approached the court seeking exemption from their duties as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). They wanted to continue their regular teaching responsibilities without interference from election-related assignments.
The petitioners argued that their service conditions did not allow authorities to assign them non-teaching responsibilities.
They also claimed that assigning teachers to election work would affect classroom activities and violate students’ fundamental right to education under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. However, Justice Vinod Diwakar rejected their arguments and found no sufficient reason to grant the requested relief.
Why Teachers Can Be Assigned Election Duties
The High Court referred to Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act).
This section generally prohibits deploying teachers for non-educational work. However, it provides certain exceptions, including:
- Decennial population census duties.
- Disaster relief responsibilities.
- Election-related duties for local authorities, State Legislatures and Parliament.
The court observed that Booth Level Officer responsibilities fall within the election-related exception under Section 27.
Therefore, assigning teachers to election work, including activities connected with voter-list preparation and revision, is legally permitted under the provision.
Role Of The Representation Of The People Act, 1950
The court also examined the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which governs the preparation and revision of electoral rolls in India.
The preparation, correction and revision of voter lists are important statutory responsibilities connected with the election process.
The High Court referred to Article 324 of the Constitution, which gives the Election Commission of India (ECI) the power of superintendence, direction and control over elections. It also highlighted Section 13CC of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Under this provision, government officers and staff involved in preparing, revising and correcting electoral rolls are considered to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the period of their assigned duties.
BLO SIR Duties: Court Finds No Evidence Of Harm To Students’ Education
Another important reason behind the court’s decision was the absence of evidence showing that the teachers’ BLO assignments had actually harmed classroom teaching.
The petitioners failed to establish that their election-related responsibilities had caused any proven disruption to students’ education.
The court, therefore, found no sufficient ground to exercise its discretionary writ jurisdiction in their favour. It rejected the petition and allowed the existing election-related deployment to stand.
FAQs
Yes. The Allahabad High Court held that government teachers can be assigned BLO responsibilities, including work related to the preparation and revision of electoral rolls.
Yes. Section 27 of the RTE Act, 2009, allows teachers to perform election-related duties as an exception to the general restriction on non-educational assignments.
No, not automatically. The Allahabad High Court held that assigning teachers election-related duties does not by itself violate Article 21A. In this case, the petitioners also failed to establish actual harm to classroom teaching or students’ education.
