Under what provision Anganwadi workers got poll duty: HC to EC

The Bombay High Court Monday directed the Election Commission of India (EC) to file an affidavit explaining the provision under which it had assigned election duty to Anganwadi workers from across Maharashtra.

A bench of Justices AS Oka and MS Sanklecha directed EC counsel Pradeep Rajagopal to file the affidavit by Tuesday, (April 23).

The bench was hearing a petition filed by around 3,500 Anganwadi workers from the state, challenging an April 12 order of the Election Commission assigning several poll tasks to them.

As per the petitioners' counsel Kranti LC, the EC also warned the petitioners that if they failed to report for such duties, an FIR would be registered against them.

However, a central government notification of 2010 exempted Anganwadi workers and several other agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), from election duties considering that they already had "specialised duties" and a taxing work schedule, advocate Kranti LC told the HC.

The petitioners also pointed out that the EC's own manual, issued in February this year, on assigning poll duties and other issues related to the elections, exempted Anganwadi workers from election duty.

Advocate Rajagopal, however, told the HC that the EC wasn't required to follow "everything in the manual".

At this, the bench asked if tomorrow the CBI would also be required to perform election duties.

"How can you say that your own manual needn't be followed?" the bench asked, while directing advocate Rajagopal to put his arguments on an affidavit.