India, Nov. 8 -- The Allahabad high court has observed that government teachers can be assigned election-related duties as booth level officers (BLOs), including work pertaining to preparation, revision, correction of electoral rolls, special intensive review (SIR), etc. A single judge bench of justice Vinod Diwakar referred to section 27 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act), which expressly permits the deployment of teachers for election-related duties and that BLO duties fall within this exception. Making this observation, the high court dismissed a writ petition filed by Azra Parveen and four others, working as assistant teachers at junior/senior schools in Saharanpur. They had challenged their deployment as BLOs. Rejecting the petitioners' contention that their deployment violated Article 21-A (right to education) of the Constitution, the court said the petitioners failed to show that their assignment as BLOs prejudiced their teaching duties or the education of children. The petitioners had sought a direction to the authorities to detach them from their duties as BLOs and restrain them from interfering. The petitioners' contention was that there was no provision in the terms and conditions of their service under which they could be assigned BLO duties. They further argued that such deployment was contrary to Article 21-A of the Constitution, read with the provisions of the RTE Act and the Rules framed thereunder. Finally deciding the issue, the HC noted that section 27 of the RTE Act expressly permits the deployment of teachers for election-related duties and that BLO duties fall within this exception. Therefore, finding no ground to entertain the petition, the high court dismissed the writ petition....