New Delhi, July 25 -- The Delhi High Court on Friday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over compelling government school teachers to serve as booth level officers (BLOs) and enumeration staff for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the Capital, observing that such assignments should be voluntary rather than mandatory.

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia observed that government school teachers were not ECI employees and noted that while the Representation of the People Act empowered electoral registration officers to requisition staff, Supreme Court judgments appeared to place limits on compelling teachers to perform election-related duties.

"Can these instructions issued ...