THE Supreme Court Thursday stayed a Kerala High Court order which held that teachers of aided schools cannot contest local body elections..A bench led by CJI SA Bobde, which was hearing an appeal filed by AN Anurag, an aspiring contestant, against the High Court's order, issued notice to the Kerala Government in this regard..Senior Advocate V Giri, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the high court judgment needed to stay as the deadline for submission of nomination forms was tomorrow..The high court had held last month that a teacher of an aided educational institution within the state would be considered a person holding an "office of profit" under the Kerala Government..It declared Section 2(1)(iv) of the Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualifications) Act, 1951 ultra vires to Article 21A of the Constitution of India..The high court was of the view that a teacher working in an aided school, wanting to be elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly or a councilor or a ward member of a local body, would be unable to devote their attention to the cause of the students during the election period, and once they were voted in, would spend time discharging their duties as elected representatives.
