HC Interim Relief To CBSE Schools Staff From Census Duty

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim relief to teachers and non-teaching staff of CBSE schools, staying Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) order that mandated their deployment for census work. The court directed authorities to refrain from coercive action.The court issued notices to the Centre and the state govts, seeking their responses by the next hearing. The order came on petitions filed by CBSE School Staff Welfare Association president Deepali Dabli and The Sikh Education Society, which challenged a March 23, 2026 directive issued by municipal authorities assigning census duties to school staff.As per the petitions, repeated representations opposing the directive were ignored, and staff were instructed to attend training sessions with warnings of action in case of non-compliance. The petitioners argued that CBSE school employees do not fall within the ambit of the Census Act and that compelling them to undertake such work is "arbitrary and illegal," violating Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.In its prima facie observations, the court noted that teachers from aided and unaided schools cannot be assigned census or election duties. It further directed that no pressure or punitive action be taken against the concerned staff until further orders. Advocate Purushottam Patil appeared for the petitioners.