The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation seeking directions to the State of Tamil Nadu to implement the National Education Policy (2020), including the three-language formula.
The Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan observed that it could issue directives under Article 32 of the Constitution to ensure that the rights of the citizens were protected, however, it could not directly compel a State to adopt a policy like the National Education Policy 2020.
The top court of the country said that it could intervene only if a State’s action or inaction related to NEP violated fundamental rights, adding that whether a State should adopt NEP 2020 or not was a vexed issue.
The Apex Court further said that the petitioner had nothing to do with the cause he proposed to espouse. He may belong to the state of Tamil Nadu, yet on his own admission, the petitioner was residing in New Delhi. In such circumstances, the writ petition stood dismissed.
The Bench, however, said that the main issue may be examined by the Court in an appropriate proceeding.
At the outset of the hearing, the Court asked petitioner GS Mani why was he concerned with NEP.
The petitioner contended that he hailed from Tamil Nadu and was now settled in Delhi. He said since the schools in Tamil Nadu did not teach Hindi, he could not learn the language easily.
The Apex Court asked Mani to learn Hindi now in Delhi and dismissed the writ petition.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin recently said that NEP 2020 would not be implemented in the State, alleging that its three-language formula was an attempt to impose Hindi.