Poll duty row reaches HC... warned the association members that a month's salary would be docked if the allegation was proved wrong

TT, 12 April 2019, Calcutta: An organisation of teachers of government-run colleges in Bengal moved the high court on Wednesday alleging that the Election Commission (EC) was forcing them to work for the Lok Sabha polls under government officers ranked lower than them.

Accepting the petition, Justice Debangshu Basak of Calcutta High Court said the case would be heard in detail on May 17, but warned the association members that a month's salary would be docked if the allegation was proved wrong.

Calcutta and the two 24Parganas vote on May 19, but the rest of Bengal would have finished voting by then. 

According to the allegation of the teachers, the rank they held and their salary structure were on a par with that of Grade.

A state government officers. But the petitioners said most of them had been engaged as presiding and polling officers under the supervision of government employees ranked lower than them. The pay scales of officials under whom they will have to perform their duties are much lower than theirs. 

The teachers alleged that at the time of joining their jobs they were given a written assurance that they would not have to work under any officer whose salary structure was lower than theirs. 

The teachers had earlier approached the EC with the demand that they should be assigned the job of circle officers during counting of votes. 

They moved the court when the EC did not respond to their appeals.

Moving the petition on behalf of the association, advocate Ekramul Bari said: "My clients are recruited by the West Bengal Public Service Commission. The rank they hold is equivalent to that of Grade A officers." 

Bari cited two notifications to substantiate his claim that the state EC had violated the central EC's directive by asking the teachers to perform poll duties under officers below their ranks. 

Counsel for the EC Dipayan Choudhury, however, told the court: "The contention of the petitioners is not true. The allegation might be true in one or two cases, but there was no intention on the part of EC to malign college teachers." 

The judge asked the EC to file an affidavit stating its view in regard to the petitioners' contentions and asked the organisation of give their reply .