Following a plea in the Bombay High Court (HC), district election officers of Thane and Palghar on Wednesday agreed to relieve four ‘exempted category’ teachers from poll duty.
The teachers, two of whom are approaching retirement, one a lactating mother and one handicapped, were appointed as ‘first polling officers’ despite falling under the employee categories that are excluded from being requisitioned for election work by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Petition filed by the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Kranti Sangathna
The division bench of justices AS Chandurkar and Jitendra Jain also allowed other teachers in similar situations to approach their respective election officers for relief, while directing the officials to resolve these issues ‘expeditiously’.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Maharashtra Rajya Shikshan Kranti Sangathna, a Thane-based school teachers’ body, which has moved the Bombay High Court (HC) against teachers from private unaided schools and those belonging to exempted categories, being drafted for election duty. While the court granted relief to the latter, it’s yet to make a decision about the former category of educators. The matter will now be heard on May 6.
In its plea, the association has alleged that the district polling officers of Mumbai, Thane and Palghar have requisitioned teaching staff from several unaided schools as first polling officers, despite ECI directive of recruiting personnel for polling duty from the government institutes. The petition has also alleged that several teachers were asked to report for election work even though they were exempted from it. These teachers’ requests to be excused from election duty fell on deaf ears, claims the petitioner.
Polling officials are ‘misusing’ their authority
The teachers’ org.sation claims that it has received around 300 complaints from unaided school teachers and those falling under exempted categories as having received appointment orders from district election offices. They alleged that the polling officials are ‘misusing’ their authority and are not even allowing the aggrieved teachers to raise their concerns, behaving with them rudely and using foul language. They are threatening teachers with disciplinary action in case of non-compliance, the petitioner has claimed.
“The teachers are being left with no option and are under immense pressure of academic work of their schools as it is the time of final examinations. The arbitral use of authority by district officers and their zonal officers is adding to the dismay of the teachers which is further leading to their exploitation and harassment,” said Raeed Kazi, counsel for the petitioner.
The association has requested the court to ask the state government to issue directions to all district election officers to scrutinise all the employees before summoning them for poll duty, and to not issue orders of appointment to exempted category and unaided teachers. It has also sought quashing of existing orders to these teachers.
Earlier this month, HC directed three org.sations representing private unaided schools in Maharashtra to cooperate with the ECI in providing details about their staff. However, in a 2019 judgment, the court had also said that the private unaided school staff cannot be called for election duty since they are not covered under Section 159 of Representation of People Act.
