PRAYAGRAJ:, Feb. 14 -- The Allahabad high court has directed that teachers need not be appointed as booth level officers (BLO), nor do they have to be assigned election duties. Their appointments have to be made only when there is no availability of employees of other categories, the court added.

With the above observation, Justice Ajay Bhanot made it clear that the Election Commission's guideline regarding "minimal appointment of teachers" on election duties has to be followed in a strict way.

The issue before the court for consideration was the scope of applicable election guidelines for appointing teachers on election duties and the manner of their implementation.

The petitioner Surya Pratap Singh, an assistant teacher in a primary ...