The Allahabad High Court has ruled that assigning teachers to election-related responsibilities, including Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, does not violate the constitutional right to education.
Justice Vinod Diwakar dismissed a petition filed by five assistant teachers from Saharanpur who had sought exemption from election duties, arguing that such assignments took them away from their primary responsibility of teaching.
The case was titled Azra Parveen And 4 Others vs State Of UP And 3 Others.
The teachers, employed in junior and senior basic schools in Saharanpur district, had approached the Court seeking directions to prevent authorities from assigning them BLO responsibilities or disrupting their regular classroom duties.
They contended that their service conditions did not permit deployment for non-teaching work. They also argued that assigning teachers to electoral roll revision activities undermined students’ right to education under Article 21A of the Constitution and violated the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), along with its rules.
The petitioners also relied on a departmental communication issued on September 3, 2012.
The High Court, however, found no merit in their submissions.
It pointed out that Section 27 of the RTE Act specifically allows teachers to be deployed for election-related work. BLO assignments, the Court said, fall within the statutory exception.
“The submission based on Article 21-A and the RTE Rules is, therefore, misconceived,” the Court observed.
The Bench further explained that the preparation and revision of electoral rolls is a statutory responsibility governed by the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The exercise is conducted under the supervision of the Election Commission of India, in accordance with Article 324 of the Constitution.
Under Section 13CC of the 1950 Act, government employees assigned to electoral roll preparation and revision are deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the duration of their deployment.
The Court also noted that the teachers had failed to produce material demonstrating that their BLO assignments had actually affected classroom teaching or caused any disruption to students’ education.
Finding no grounds to exercise its discretionary writ jurisdiction, the High Court dismissed the petition.