Hyderabad: The Telangana high court on Tuesday issued notices to the state govt and the Election Commission (EC), seeking their response to a PIL challenging the exclusion of primary and upper-primary school teachers from voting in the upcoming MLC (Teachers) polls. The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sreenivas Rao, directed the authorities to clarify their stance.
The PIL, filed by B Krishna Murthy, a secondary-grade teacher from Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, questioned the circulars issued by the chief electoral officer and district collectors, which excluded these teachers from voter enrolment.
The bench asked the petitioner to explain why the authorities’ decision to classify teachers into various categories and then determine voting rights for each was incorrect.
The petitioner’s counsel, Prabhakar, argued that the exclusion was based on an unjust classification. He told the court that primary and upper-primary teachers, who are graduates and work alongside high school teachers, were unfairly left out. He claimed that this discrimination violated the Representation of the People Act and called for amending the norms. The bench sought responses from the officials and adjourned the case. tnn
