Education – Delhi High Court Petition Challenges Large-Scale Election Duty for Teachers
Education –A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved before the Delhi High Court challenging the large-scale deployment of government and municipal school teachers for Booth Level Officer (BLO) and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) duties. The petition urges the court to set aside official orders wherever more than 10 percent of a school’s regular teaching staff has been assigned election-related work or where teachers have been required to perform such duties during regular classroom hours. The plea argues that these practices are affecting students’ education and disrupting the normal functioning of schools across the national capital.
Petition Seeks Limits on Teacher Deployment
The petition has been filed by advocates Rajesh Kumar Gogna and Ashok Agarwal. It requests the court to direct the Election Commission of India and the concerned authorities to adopt a balanced approach while assigning election duties. According to the plea, teaching activities should not suffer because of election-related responsibilities, and classrooms must continue to function without interruption.
The petition further recommends that authorities first utilise the available pool of non-teaching government employees for election assignments under Section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. It argues that this would help reduce the burden placed on school teachers while ensuring that election work is completed efficiently.
Concerns Over Students’ Learning
According to the PIL, the deployment of teachers on election duty has affected lakhs of students studying in government, municipal and government-aided schools in Delhi. The petition claims that while these institutions have witnessed a significant reduction in available teaching staff, private unaided schools have not faced a similar situation, leading to unequal treatment.
The plea states that in several schools, a large number of regular teachers have been assigned BLO and SIR responsibilities during teaching hours. As a result, classes have reportedly been handled by guest teachers or educators teaching subjects outside their expertise, raising concerns about the quality of classroom instruction.
Constitutional and Legal Grounds Cited
The petition argues that the current practice violates Articles 14, 21 and 21A of the Constitution by affecting students’ right to quality education. It also refers to the Supreme Court’s 2008 judgment in Election Commission of India v. St. Mary’s School, which observed that teaching staff should generally be assigned election-related work during holidays or non-teaching days so that classroom learning remains unaffected.
In addition, the plea alleges that the deployment pattern is inconsistent with provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. It claims that removing teachers from classrooms in large numbers may disturb the prescribed pupil-teacher ratio and goes against restrictions on assigning teachers to non-educational work except in limited circumstances permitted by law.
Examples Highlighted in the Petition
To support its arguments, the petition refers to a July 14, 2026 order issued by the Electoral Registration Officer for the Ambedkar Nagar Assembly constituency. According to the plea, the order directed the deployment of 149 teachers drawn from around 15 government schools for BLO duties, including complete subject faculties from several institutions.
The petition also cites a media report alleging that all regular teachers in two Delhi government schools had been assigned to SIR work, resulting in serious disruption to classroom teaching during the academic session.
Representations Yet to Receive Relief
The PIL states that the Vice and Principals’ Association of Delhi, along with the petitioners, had submitted representations requesting authorities to rationalise the deployment of teachers for election-related assignments. However, the plea claims that no effective corrective measures have been taken despite these requests.
The petition has also sought directions to introduce safeguards that protect both the educational interests and the safety of students in government and municipal schools while ensuring that election responsibilities are carried out without undermining regular academic activities.