The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by BJP leader and lawyer G.S. Mani, which asked for the implementation of the three-language formula under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
A bench comprising Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan rejected the plea, stating that the court does not have the power to force a state to follow a central policy like the NEP, reported LiveLaw.
"Whether the states should adopt the National Education Policy 2020 or not is a vexed issue. The Supreme Court, through Article 32 of the Constitution, can issue directives to ensure that the rights of the citizens are protected. It cannot directly compel a state to adopt a policy like the NEP. The court may, however, intervene if a state's action or inaction related to the NEP violates any fundamental rights," LiveLaw quoted the bench as saying.
The court also questioned the petitioner’s connection to the issue, pointing out that although Mani is from Tamil Nadu, he now lives in New Delhi.
“We do not propose to examine this issue in this writ petition. We believe that the petitioner has nothing to do with the cause he proposes to espouse. Although he may be from the state of Tamil Nadu, yet on his own admission, he is residing in New Delhi. In such circumstances, this petition stands dismissed,” the court said.
The plea was filed amid ongoing row over Hindi imposition. While the Centre claimed the NEP promotes multilingualism, Tamil Nadu argued it puts unfair pressure on non-Hindi-speaking states.
The state has opposed the policy, accusing the Centre of trying to "impose" Hindi through the three-language formula.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin has been a vocal opponent of the NEP, especially its three-language formula, accusing the Centre of attempting to impose Hindi and non-Hindi speaking states.
