New Delhi [India], August 29 (ANI): The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Delhi High Court that teachers deployed as Booth Level Officers (BLOs) during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Delhi must perform election-related duties during holidays, non-teaching hours and non-teaching days so that classroom teaching is not affected.
In its latest reply, the ECI also acknowledged that some field-level orders issued during the SIR exercise were not sufficiently clear and could have created confusion about whether teachers were required to work during teaching hours. The Commission said those orders were subsequently withdrawn, amended or modified.
The issue is part of a petition filed before the Delhi High Court by advocates Rajesh Kumar Gogna and Ashok Agarwal challenging the deployment of teachers for BLO and SIR-related duties.
During an earlier hearing, the Division Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that although the ECI has the power to requisition teachers for election work, the safeguards under Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 cannot be ignored.
The Court also observed that teachers already spending six to eight hours teaching should not be subjected to excessive additional work and said the ECI must ensure that election duties do not create "unbearable" stress.
The ECI said its policy has consistently required teachers to undertake electoral work only during holidays, non-teaching hours and non-teaching days.
It relied on the Supreme Court's judgment in Election Commission of India v. St. Mary's School, (2008) 2 SCC 390, and said its instructions issued over the years have been framed to ensure that academic work is not disrupted.
The Commission said some EROs and AEROs issued orders whose wording was capable of creating ambiguity about teacher deployment during school hours.
According to the ECI, these were isolated field-level orders and were not intended to change its policy. After the issue was noticed, corrective action was taken.
The reply lists action concerning Krishna Nagar, Rohtas Nagar, Vishwas Nagar, Mundka, Greater Kailash and Gokalpur. Some orders were withdrawn, while others were modified through corrigenda to make clear that teachers would work outside teaching hours.
The Commission also placed on record its August 19 letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi, stating that some ERO orders were not aligned with ECI instructions on deployment of teachers.
The ECI directed effective monitoring of teacher deployment, particularly to ensure compliance with the safeguards laid down in the St. Mary's School judgment.
Following this, the Delhi CEO issued a circular on August 20 to all 13 District Election Officers and 70 EROs. It reiterated that teachers should perform BLO duties during holidays, non-teaching hours, after office hours and non-teaching days, without affecting their parent schools.
The petitioners have sought a fixed 10% ceiling on the number of teachers from a school who can be deployed for BLO and SIR duties.
The ECI has opposed the demand, saying there is no constitutional or statutory basis for such a fixed percentage.
According to the Commission, the key requirement is that teaching hours and academic activities must not be affected, rather than maintaining a particular numerical limit.
The Commission has also rejected the claim that non-teaching personnel were being ignored.
It said BLOs have been drawn from several departments, including the CPCB, ICDS, MCD, DSSSB, Northern Railways, Railway Pay and Accounts Office and DGHS. It also referred to Anganwadi Workers, ASHA Workers, DTC Conductors, DJB field staff and other personnel involved in the SIR exercise.
The ECI said teachers are engaged only to the extent required after considering other eligible personnel.
The Commission has cited Ambedkar Nagar as an example, stating that out of 149 teachers initially identified, 45 were granted exemptions and 104 were ultimately engaged across multiple schools.
The ECI maintains that where teachers perform SIR duties outside teaching hours and on holidays, the number deployed by itself does not establish a violation. The matter is listed before the Delhi High Court on August 31.
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This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
