The Allahabad High Court has stayed an order issued by the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) of Gautam Budh Nagar that sought the list of all teaching and non-teaching staff from aided and unaided private educational institutions for census purposes. The court observed that employees of such institutions cannot be made liable for any task under the Census Act, 1948.
Court's Prima Facie Observation
Hearing a writ petition filed by the Independent Self-Financed Schools Association, Justice Siddharth Nandan, in an order dated May 21, directed the state government to file a reply within four weeks. The court noted, “This court prima facie finds that the teaching and non-teaching staff of private institutions, whether aided or unaided, cannot be said to fall within the purview of local authorities, where the basic shiksha adhikari (BSA), DIOS and the DPRO alone are required to provide their staff, as also contemplated in the letter dated April 1, 2026.”
Legal Basis Under Census Act
The court further stated, “In view of the list forwarded by the BSA to the charge officer pursuant to his letter dated April 8, 2026, the employees of aided and unaided institutions cannot be made liable for any task under the Census Act, 1948.” According to the petitioner, staff of educational institutions are not covered under the definition of ‘local authority’ as per Section 4A of the Census Act, 1948, which mandates that every directed local authority must provide staff for census duty.
Petitioner's Argument
The petitioner argued that private institutions do not fall within the ambit of ‘local authority’ because they are neither controlled by the government nor are its subsidiaries. The court agreed with this prima facie view and stayed the DIOS order, providing interim relief to the schools.
