The Bench asked why such a direction was necessary if teachers were, as claimed by the Commission, being engaged only after school hours. “Can any teacher be charged with misconduct of unauthorised leave if she is present during school hours? If they are engaged after school hours, where is the question of there being any absence or unauthorised leave?” The petition, filed by advocates Rajesh Kumar Gogna and Ashok Agarwal, contended that the mass deployment of government, municipal and government-aided school teachers for the SIR exercise was adversely affecting the education of lakhs of students in Delhi. It alleged that in several schools, regular teaching staff had been withdrawn during school hours, forcing classes to be handled by guest teachers or teachers from unrelated subjects.