Mumbai, May 22: The Bombay High Court on Friday held that private unaided and minority schools cannot be compelled, prima facie, to deploy their teachers and non-teaching staff for census duties, observing that neither the Census Act nor the Census Rules expressly authorise such compulsory requisition.
HC grants interim relief to school associations
A vacation bench of Justices Gautam Ankhad and Sandesh Patil granted interim relief to associations representing over 500 private unaided and minority schools across Maharashtra and stayed notices and appointment orders issued by civic authorities appointing teachers as Enumerators and Supervisors for the ongoing census exercise.
The petition was filed by Unaided Schools Forum and other school associations challenging actions initiated by authorities in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nagpur.
The petitioners contended that teachers were being forcibly assigned census work and that coercive measures, including show-cause notices and FIRs, had been initiated against those refusing to comply.
Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the deployment of teachers during the academic year would severely affect schools and students. He also submitted that private unaided schools do not fall within the scope of “local authorities” under the Census Act.
Court questions compulsory deployment
The bench found substance in the submissions and observed: “Prima facie, we find merit in the Petitioners’ submission that neither the provisions of the Census Act nor the Census Rules expressly cast any statutory obligation upon the Petitioners… to make available their teaching and non-teaching staff for census duties.”
The court noted that a large number of teachers had been appointed for census work in several schools. In one Mumbai school, all 133 teachers had been deployed, while another school in Koparkhairane was asked to spare 75 out of its 96 teachers.
Rejecting the State’s reliance on provisions of the Census Act, the bench observed that Sections 6 and 7 merely permit authorities to seek limited assistance relating to persons present in an institution and do not empower the government to compulsorily appoint teachers as census personnel.
The HC also rejected the State’s argument based on Section 27 of the Right to Education Act, which permits deployment of teachers for census duties. The bench clarified that the provision “merely carves out exceptions to the general prohibition against deployment of teachers for non-educational purposes” and does not independently authorise compulsory requisition of teachers from unaided schools.
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Court cites impact on education
The judges further observed that diversion of substantial teaching staff for census work would “disrupt regular academic activities and impair the right of students to uninterrupted education.”
Accordingly, the court restrained authorities from issuing further orders compelling teachers of member schools to perform census duties and also barred coercive or criminal action against them. The matter will be heard next on July 31.
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