Delhi High Court Questions EC's Power to Mandate Teacher Duties for Electoral Roll Revision

The Delhi High Court on Friday sought the Election Commission's (EC) response to a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the compulsory deployment of government school teachers as Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) for the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national capital. The court questioned whether the EC could mandate such duties under Article 324 of the Constitution, which grants the commission broad powers over elections.

A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard the PIL filed by advocates Rajesh Kumar Gogna and Ashok Agarwal. The plea argued that the large-scale deployment of teachers disrupts education and places undue stress on educators.

The court's remarks came after the EC's counsel stated that teachers are only required to perform poll-related work during non-teaching hours or holidays and that only a small fraction of teachers are deployed. The counsel described the EC's approach as “liberal,” noting that if a school is asked for nine teachers, only three or four are assigned.

However, the bench observed that if the EC treats teacher participation as voluntary rather than mandatory, the matter could be resolved. “Can they be said to be mandatory? Somebody is not interested in your honorarium or compensation. They need rest. It should be voluntary. Taking shade of Article 324, you can do whatever you want?” the court orally remarked.

The PIL cited the death of Suman Lata, a 51-year-old teacher at a Municipal Corporation of Delhi primary school, who died of a heart attack on July 22 while assigned BLO duties. Her family stated she had been under considerable stress balancing her teaching and election responsibilities.

The petition also contended that the mass deployment of teachers from government, municipal, and government-aided schools is adversely affecting lakhs of students in Delhi. It alleged that regular teaching staff are withdrawn during school hours, forcing classes to be handled by guest teachers or those from unrelated subjects.

The plea sought a direction to cap the deployment of teachers at 10% and schedule duties outside teaching hours. The High Court listed the next hearing for July 28.