Bombay High Court stays census duty requisition for private unaided school staff

The Bombay High Court has granted interim protection to private unaided and minority schools in Maharashtra, staying notices and coercive actions against their staff for not reporting for census duties. The Court held that the Census Act, 1948, and Census Rules, 1990, do not statutorily obligate private unaided schools to provide staff for census work, as Section 4A applies only to 'local authorities' and Section 27 of the RTE Act is not an independent source of power. The court also applied the ejusdem generis rule to interpret 'Teachers' in Census Rules as referring only to government or aided institutions.