Cannot compel states to adopt National Education Policy: Supreme Court
A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said the court can only consider the violation of fundamental rights due to a policy’s implementation
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala, saying it cannot compel any state to adopt it. A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said the court can only consider the violation of fundamental rights due to a policy’s implementation.
Advocate GS Mani filed the petition, claiming Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala were constitutionally bound to implement the NEP. He said the policy was being opposed on the grounds of the three-language formula and that it requires students to learn Hindi.
Mani told the court he is from Chennai but settled in Delhi when asked: “Who are you and how are you concerned with NEP?” The court told Mani he had no cause to file the plea since he lives in Delhi. It dismissed the plea, saying Mani has nothing to do with the cause he proposes to espouse. “Though he hails from Tamil Nadu, he admits that he is a resident of Delhi.”
The court cited the Constitution’s Article 32, which allows it to issue directions to ensure the fundamental rights are protected. “It cannot compel any state to adopt the NEP. But the court may intervene if the state’s action violates fundamental rights of citizens.”
The court told Mani that his children can continue learning Hindi in Delhi. It suggested that the NEP could be examined in an appropriate proceeding.
Mani’s petition questioned the objections to implementing the NEP. It claimed that states were unnecessarily making the NEP a political issue. The plea said the NEP only seeks to provide uniformity in education. It added that all Indian languages should be taught free of cost to school children from all strata of society.
The petition asked the court to pass directions for the effective implementation of the Constitution, particularly the right of children to receive free and effective education. The plea called the NEP a major education policy to improve the quality of school education. “Free education is a fundamental right. By refusing to accept this plan, the state government is denying the fundamental right of free education to the school children.”
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has led the opposition to the three-language formula under NEP and accused the Union government of trying to impose Hindi. He has alleged that the state’s rights were gradually snatched, maintaining that education should solely be a state subject. Stalin has demanded the reversal of the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which moved education to the concurrent list or subjects on which both the central and state governments can legislate.
The Union and Tamil Nadu governments have sparred over a series of issues, including withholding of funding under the Samagra Shiksha scheme over its refusal to implement the NEP.
In April, Stalin announced the formation of a committee under former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph to suggest ways to protect the rights of the states as per the Constitution and strengthen the relationship between the Union and state governments.
