Archive · 15 Aug 2026
Calcutta High Court questions Bengal government on teachers' census duty
India is doing a big count of all its people, called a census.
Teachers have been asked to help with the counting work.
Many teachers live far from their schools and travel one-and-a-half to two hours each way.
A judge asked how they could do counting work after school when they still have long journeys home.
He also pointed out that only Sunday is a holiday, not Saturday.
The teachers' lawyer said other states let teachers do only census work during this period.
The government said the census is a national duty and teachers must help with it.
The judge asked the government to choose teachers who live near their schools.
The case will be heard again on Tuesday.
Justice Krishna Rao asked how teachers commuting 40–60 km could do census duty after school hours or on weekends.
Bengal school hours run from 10am to 4pm, and the judge noted only Sunday is a holiday, not Saturday.
An August 3 education directorate order allowed census work after class hours or weekends as long as academics are unaffected.
The state refused teachers an 'on duty' facility, citing a teacher shortage from recruitment stalled for nearly a decade over irregularities.
The court asked the state to identify teachers working near their schools and submit a proper plan; the next hearing is on Tuesday.
- Who
- Justice Krishna Rao of the Calcutta High Court, petitioning schoolteachers, and the Bengal government represented by Loknath Chatterjee.
- What
- The court questioned an order requiring teachers to do census enumeration after school hours or on weekends and sought a proper plan from the state.
- When
- A Friday hearing during the August 1–15 census self-enumeration period, with the next hearing scheduled for Tuesday.
- Where
- Calcutta High Court, West Bengal, India.
- Why
- Petitioning teachers argued that long commutes of 40–60 km made post-school enumeration impractical, while the state defended the duty as a national obligation.
Teachers / Petitioners
Bengal Government
Census duty timing
Teachers / Petitioners
Teachers travelling 40–60 km and 1.5–2 hours each way cannot realistically perform enumeration work after school hours or on weekends.
Bengal Government
The census is a national duty; teachers may perform census activities post-class hours or during weekends so that academic activities are not affected.
On-duty facility
Teachers / Petitioners
Teachers should get on-duty status to focus solely on census work, as governments in other states provide; refusing it affects personal liberty.
Bengal Government
The department refused the on-duty benefit because of a teacher shortage, worsened by recruitment stalled for nearly a decade due to appointment irregularities.
- Court
- Calcutta High Court
- Presiding judge
- Justice Krishna Rao
- School hours in Bengal
- 10am–4pm
- Teachers' travel distance
- 40–60 km
- Census self-enumeration window
- August 1–15
- Directorate order date
- August 3
- Petitioners' lawyer
- Subir Sanyal
- Next hearing
- Tuesday