Supreme Court Seeks Response from Centre, CBSE and NCERT on Three-Language Policy for Class 9

Brief By Newsbrief / 5:33 PM on 14 Jul 2026

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Central Government, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on two fresh petitions challenging the CBSE policy that makes the study of three languages, including at least two Indian languages, mandatory for Class 9 students. A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohan took note of the submissions made by senior advocates Anand Grover and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared for the petitioners. The court issued notices to the respondents and directed them to file their replies within 10 days. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 29.

The fresh petitions have been filed by Amandeep Kaur and Arpan Roy Chowdhury, naming the Centre, CBSE and NCERT as respondents. The petitioners argued that the policy has placed an unexpected burden on students, parents and schools. According to them, many schools are facing a shortage of textbooks and qualified teachers, making it difficult to implement the policy effectively. They also contended that the circular was introduced without providing adequate alternatives and is inconsistent with the spirit of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

During the hearing, senior advocate Anand Grover argued that the government was imposing languages without offering meaningful choices to students. He questioned how schools would arrange qualified teachers if regional language combinations, such as Punjabi without Sanskrit, were introduced. The petitioners urged the court to examine the legality of the policy and its implementation. The Supreme Court has now sought responses from all concerned authorities and will take up the matter again on July 29.