HC grants interim stay on deployment of private unaided school teachers for census duty

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim stay on the deployment of teaching and non-teaching staff of private unaided and minority schools in Maharashtra for the upcoming decennial census operations.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Gautam Ankhad and Sandesh Patil also restrained authorities from taking any coercive steps against school staff members who fail to report for the census duty.

''Neither the provisions of the Census Act nor the Census Rules expressly cast any statutory obligation upon employees of private unaided and private unaided minority schools to make available their teaching and non-teaching staff for census duties,'' the bench held in its interim order.

The HC was hearing petitions filed by the Unaided Schools Forum and several other educational associations representing over 500 private unaided and minority schools across Maharashtra.

The petitioners have challenged recent appointment orders and notices issued by municipal corporations across Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Navi Mumbai, which sought to unilaterally draft private school teachers as census Enumerators and Supervisors.

Senior advocate Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for the school forums, argued that deploying teachers for non-academic duties during active academic sessions would severely disrupt school functioning and prejudice students' education.

Under Section 4A of the Census Act, 1948, only a ''local authority'' is legally mandated to provide staff for census operations, and private unaided schools do not fall under this definition, Dhond said.

Opposing the plea, government pleader Anjali Helekar argued that the population census is one of the largest administrative exercises in the country.

She contended the Right to Education (RTE) Act provision explicitly carves out exceptions allowing the deployment of teachers for decennial census duties, and noted that since schools are currently closed for summer vacations, academic activities would not be impacted.

Rejecting the state's contention, the bench noted that Section 27 of the RTE Act merely serves as an exception to the general prohibition on non-educational work, but cannot be treated as an independent source of substantive power to compulsorily requisition private employees.

The court pointed out that the material placed on record indicates that substantial teaching staff attached to several schools have been requisitioned for census duties.

''This will disrupt the regular academic activities and impair the right of students to uninterrupted education,'' the court held.

Hence, interim protection cannot be denied.

The bench emphasised that the census exercises can effectively be executed through existing government machinery, local bodies or aided institutions.

While granting the interim stay on notices and criminal actions, the court directed the respondents to file an affidavit-in-reply within four weeks. The matter has been scheduled for final disposal on July 31, 2026.

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