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Synopsis

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to reassess the deployment of teachers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and for other election-related duties. Court emphasized that teachers should be assigned such responsibilities only as a last resort, after exhausting all other available categories of employees listed in the Election Commission’s guidelines.

Court directed that the deployment of teachers should be refixed in light of its interpretation of Election Commission Guideline No. 1.5d read with Election Commission Guideline No. 1.2.

"In case other categories of staff mentioned in Election Guideline No. 1.2 are available, teachers shall not be deployed on election duties or appointed as Booth Level Officers", court ordered. 

"The State authorities cannot lightly or in a perfunctory manner encroach upon the free time of teachers. Unless other options have been fully explored and exercised, teachers are not liable to be detracted from their periods of self reflection or distracted from their endeavours at self education made in free time," said the bench of Justice Ajay Bhanot. 

Court was dealing with a writ petition filed by one Surya Pratap Singh, an assistant teacher, challenging his appointment to election duties.

His counsel Advocate Satyendra Chandra Tripathi argued that election duties as BLO, which had been assigned to the petitioner would interfere with his duties as a teacher. The work of a Booth Level Officer is of a continuous nature and there will be no let up in the election duties, he submitted. 

He further argued that such assignments are contrary to the Right to Education Act, 2009.

On the other hand, the state and Election Commission, however, defended the decision, asserting that teachers' election duties are in compliance with legal provisions and do not significantly impact their teaching work.

The high court analyzed the implications of assigning election duties to teachers within the framework of the Right to Education Act, 2009, Article 21-A of the Constitution, and various judicial precedents. It noted that while elections are a cornerstone of democracy, the right to education is equally critical.

Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Election Commission of India v. St. Mary's School, Justice Bhanot underscored that a balance must be struck between electoral needs and uninterrupted education.

Further, the judge referred to conflict of election-related work assigned to teachers and Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 which prohibits assigning teachers to non-educational duties, except for census work, disaster relief, and elections. It clarified that the judicial interpretation, including in Nirbhay Singh v. State of U.P., has held that while teachers can be assigned election duties, they should not be deployed during teaching hours or on teaching days.

Court pointed out that the Election Commission’s guidelines (dated October 4, 2022) list several categories of government and semi-government employees eligible for appointment as BLOs, including teachers. However, the guidelines also specify that teachers should be assigned such duties minimally and preferably during holidays or non-teaching hours, it stressed. 

Furthermore, court strongly emphasized that teaching is not limited to classroom hours; teachers require time for lesson planning, student assessment, and personal academic development. Burdening them with election duties beyond non-teaching hours could erode the quality of education, it opined. 

The high court held that the government’s approach of appointing teachers without considering alternative options violates the spirit of the Election Commission’s own guidelines.

Accordingly, it directed the State government to refix the deployment of teachers at elections. "The exercise shall be completed within a period of three months," it ordered. 

Regarding the case at hand, court directed that till such exercise is carried out, the concerned teachers will have to discharge their electoral duties as contemplated in the impugned list of BLO dated August 16, 2024 passed by the District Magistrate/District Electoral Registration Officer, Jhansi.

Case Title: Surya Pratap Singh vs. State Of U.P. And 7 Others