NEW DELHI, 11 MAY 

The Supreme Court of India has rejected a petition requesting that the state governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal implement the National Education Policy (NEP), including its controversial three-language formula. 

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan clarified that the Supreme Court cannot compel state governments to adopt the NEP. "Under Article 32 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court may issue directives to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, but it does not have the authority to directly enforce a policy such as the NEP, 2020," the bench stated in its ruling on Friday.

The court noted that it may intervene if a state's actions or failures concerning the NEP infringe upon fundamental rights or other legal rights. However, the bench indicated that it would not engage with these issues in the current writ petition filed under Article 32.

Furthermore, the court remarked that the petitioner, advocate GS Mani, lacked standing in this case. Although Mani claims to hail from Tamil Nadu, he admitted to residing in New Delhi, leading the court to conclude that he does not have a direct interest in the matter he seeks to address. The judges suggested that the broader issues of the NEP could be examined in a more suitable proceeding in the future, but not in this particular petition.