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No restriction on deploying school teachers for election duties as BLOs, ECI informs Delhi High Court

Delhi school teachers argued that they should be assigned as BLOs only after exhausting other employee categories.

Counting for Haryana local body elections 2025 is currently underway.Delhi high court judge Justice Mini Pushkarna sought responses from the ECI and the Delhi government, “bringing forth all the facts on record”. (File Photo)

Opposing a plea by teachers in Delhi government schools objecting to their assignment as booth level officers (BLOs), the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Delhi High Court Wednesday that there is no restriction on deploying teachers as BLOs after the amendments to ECI guidelines in June.

Justice Mini Pushkarna sought responses from the ECI and the Delhi government, “bringing forth all the facts on record”, while posting the matter for further consideration on September 25.

The petitioners in the case are teachers in government schools aggrieved by office orders dated June 9 and 16, through which they were deployed as BLOs. Objecting to the appointment, the petitioners told the high court that their appointment as BLOs was in contravention of the ECI’s guidelines of November 3, 2010, and October 4, 2022. According to the petitioners, teachers can be deployed as BLOs only after exhausting all the categories of employees.

They also pointed out that their appointment contradicted Section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE Act), 2009. According to this section, teachers should not be assigned non-educational tasks. They argued that they are in the Group B category, while the Delhi government has intentionally not deployed those in Group C category as BLOs.

The Election Commission, however, pointed out that an amendment was carried out on June 5 to the earlier guidelines, modifying several clauses. Part of the amended clauses include that “any person can be appointed as a BLO from amongst any Group C and above regular serving employees of the state/local government, enrolled as elector in that part/area”.

The Delhi government and the ECI informed the court that teachers can be deployed as BLOs, as long as they work on holidays, non-teaching days, and outside teaching hours. The court has now sought formal replies on affidavits from ECI and the Delhi government.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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