New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre on a PIL challenging the mandatory singing of two Sanskrit prayers in Kendriya Vidyalayas on the ground that it compelled non-Hindus and atheists to chant the same.

The Kendriya Vidyalayas are a network of 1,180 central government schools across the country that function under the ministry of human resource development, with a uniform curriculum. The over-50-year chain of schools is one of the world's largest.

A bench of Justices R.F. Nariman and Navin Gupta sought the Centre's response in four weeks on the PIL filed by Veenayak Shah, a Madhya Pradesh-based advocate, who has sought quashing of Article 92 of The Code of Kendriya Vidyalayas that mandates the common prayers.

The prayers are in Sanskrit and Hindi, and all the students irrespective of faith and belief have to chant them, eyes closed and hands folded.

All the teachers share the responsibility of supervising the morning assembly and making sure every student folds their hands, closes their eyes and recites the prayers. Any student failing to do so is punished and humiliated in front of the entire school, the petition said.

"Parents and children of the minority communities as well as atheists and others who do not agree with this system of prayer, such as agnostics, sceptics, rationalists and others, would find the imposition of this prayer constitutionally impermissible. The impugned Article 92 requires the teachers to guide and supervise the prayer.

"In case a student does not stand with his palms folded and does not recite the prayer, then the teacher is expected to bring the student on the stage to correct them in public. Similarly if the teacher does not enforce the folding of the palms and the saying of the prayer, then the principal is expected to reprimand the teacher. This is happening in schools throughout the country," the petition said.

The petitioner said the rule violated Article 28(1) of the Constitution which mandated that "no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds."

It is also in breach of Article 25 (1) which says that subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of the Constitution relating to fundamental rights, "all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion".

The petitioner further complained that making it mandatory for all students to chant the prayer "creates a lot of obstacles in developing a scientific temperament among the students as the whole idea of God and religious faith is given immense priority....

"Students as a result learn to develop an inclination towards seeking refuge from Almighty instead of developing a practical outcome towards the obstacles and hurdles faced in everyday life and spirit of enquiry and reform seems to be lost somewhere."