Delhi HC directs EC to ensure teachers are not overburdened during electoral roll revision

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure that schoolteachers deployed for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls are not subjected to an “unbearable” burden.

A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia reiterated that the poll body’s constitutional powers must be exercised in compliance with the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

The Bench clarified that there was no dispute regarding the ECI’s power to engage teachers for election-related work. However, it emphasised that Section 27 of the RTE Act, which prohibits teachers from being assigned non-educational duties except for population census, disaster relief and election work, “cannot be lost sight of”.

ECI counsel stated that teachers being requisitioned for work relating to revision of the electoral roll are being engaged only after school hours, holidays and non-teaching days.

“We, however, may also emphasise that after working in a school for 6-8 hours, a teacher engaged to perform election duties may cause stress and therefore it is expected of the ECI and its officers to be mindful of the stress which a teacher undergoes while performing election-related duties after the school hours and non-teaching days,” the Bench observed.

“Accordingly, we direct that while assigning the work related to elections to the teachers... they shall take all appropriate steps so that the election-related work does not cause so much stress on teachers which may lead to unbearable burden,” the Bench said.

During the hearing, counsel for the petitioners disputed the Election Commission’s submission that teachers were being assigned SIR duties only after school hours, on holidays and on non-teaching days, describing the claim as “100 per cent lie.” The Bench said, “You bring to the notice of the court that any of the teachers have been deployed during the course of the teaching hours, we will take action against them.”

The Bench also questioned the ECI over a circular issued on July 26 directing school principals not to initiate disciplinary action against teachers for unauthorised leave or absence. The Bench asked why such a direction was necessary if teachers were, as claimed by the Commission, being engaged only after school hours.

“Can any teacher be charged with misconduct of unauthorised leave if she is present during school hours? If they are engaged after school hours, where is the question of there being any absence or unauthorised leave?” the Court asked. It added that while it was not undermining the ECI’s electoral exercise, a balance had to be maintained with the mandate of the RTE Act. “It seems you are least bothered about the RTE Act... This whole letter is threatening,” the Bench remarked.

When the ECI submitted that teachers may spend about five hours after school performing Booth Level Officer (BLO) duties, the Court expressed concern over the cumulative workload, saying the teacher should not be expected to work for nearly 11 hours a day, particularly as many of them are women with family responsibilities.

“We are not curtailing the rights of the ECI, but we are also conscious of the conditions of teachers... You have to humanise,” the Court observed.

The petition, filed by advocates Rajesh Kumar Gogna and Ashok Agarwal, contended that the mass deployment of government, municipal and government-aided school teachers for the SIR exercise was adversely affecting the education of lakhs of students in Delhi. It alleged that in several schools, regular teaching staff had been withdrawn during school hours, forcing classes to be handled by guest teachers or teachers from unrelated subjects.

The Court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 20.