A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court requesting the implementation of the three-language formula suggested under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
New Delhi, May 9th: The Supreme Court of India, on Friday, refused to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that asked for the compulsory implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s three-language formula in the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
A bench led by Justice JB Pardiwala of the Supreme Court refused to hear the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), saying that the court cannot force any state to adopt a policy like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
In its official order, the apex court said,
“It (court) cannot directly compel a state to adopt a policy like the National Education Policy 2020. The court may, however, intervene if a state’s action or inaction related to the National Education Policy violates any fundamental rights. 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.”
This PIL was filed by GS Mani, a lawyer and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He had approached the top court last month with the argument that these three states were not following the Centre’s education policy, and were also not signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Government regarding the same
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court requesting the implementation of the three-language formula suggested under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
The petition argues that these states have not adopted the policy, which may negatively impact public interest and infringe on citizens’ rights.
The plea, submitted by BJP-affiliated lawyer GS Mani, states that the refusal or failure of these state governments to implement the National Education Policy or sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) may harm public welfare and violate educational and constitutional rights. The petition seeks a directive from the Supreme Court to enforce the NEP in these states.
The petition asserts, “The State government is under a constitutional or legal obligation to implement the National Educational Policy 2020 of the Central government and to enter into an MOU for the implementation of the said policy, scheme, or project.”
According to Mani, all states except Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal have adopted the three-language formula under the NEP, which is a major education reform aimed at enhancing learning quality for students across the country.
The National Education Policy aims to provide quality education to students from all sections of society.
The petition highlights that
“All Indian languages should be taught free of cost to school children belonging to the poor, scheduled, tribes, backward, and the most backward classes children.”
The PIL alleges that the three states have refused to adopt the three-language policy due to political reasons and wrongly claim that it is an attempt to impose Hindi. The petition argues that Central government policies, including the NEP, apply to all states and that it is their duty to implement them.
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“The Central government’s laws, plans, and policies are applicable to all State governments,” the petition states.
It further emphasizes that “It is the duty of the state government to implement such a policy and this is a fundamental duty and right given in the Constitution.”
The petition also contends that by rejecting the NEP, these states are denying schoolchildren their constitutional right to free education.
“Free education is a fundamental right given by the Constitution. By refusing to accept this plan, the state government is denying the fundamental right of free education to the school children concerned. Therefore, the Supreme Court should intervene in this matter and issue an order to these three state governments to immediately implement the Central government’s National Education Policy,”
the PIL states.
While the Central government supports the NEP as a step towards promoting multilingualism, Tamil Nadu has argued that it places unfair pressure on non-Hindi-speaking states. The Tamil Nadu government has accused the Centre of attempting to introduce Hindi indirectly through the policy.
“The Tamil Nadu government has accused the Central government of trying to push Hindi ‘sideways’ through the NEP, despite the state’s longstanding resistance to such policies.”
The Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed the NEP, particularly its three-language requirement, claiming that the Centre is trying to “impose“ Hindi on the state.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a major education reform announced by the Central Government in 2020. One of its key features is the three-language formula, which encourages students to learn:
- The regional language or mother tongue
- Hindi
- English
The purpose is to promote multilingualism and make education more inclusive across India. However, some states like Tamil Nadu have strongly opposed the imposition of Hindi, citing language and cultural rights.
Case Name : G.S. MANI vs Government of Tamil Nadu and others | W.P.(C) No. 260/2025
