The Telangana High Court has issued notices to the state and Union governments as well as the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the alleged exclusion of primary and upper primary school teachers from voting in the upcoming teachers' constituency Member of Legislative Council (MLC) elections.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao was hearing a PIL filed by Beemanaboina Krishna Murthy, a secondary grade teacher from Bandakadipalli in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. The petitioner challenged the omission of primary and upper primary school teachers from the electoral rolls, which he said was discriminatory and violated their rights under the Representation of the People Act, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Representing the petitioner, Chikkudu Prabhakar contended that recent circulars issued by the chief electoral officer and district collectors excluded primary and upper primary teachers from voter enrollment procedures, despite them being qualified and their responsibilities being on par with high school teachers. He argued that this exclusion was unjust and sought amendments to the electoral norms to ensure equity for all teachers.
The Public interest Litigation (PIL) asserted that the current electoral framework undermines the democratic rights of these teachers.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the bench sought responses from the Union Ministry of Law and Legislative Affairs, the chief secretary of Telangana, the principal secretaries of Law and Primary Education departments, the State Election Commission, and the Chief Electoral Officer, stated The New Indian Express report.
The court adjourned the matter for four weeks for the respondents to reply.
