The SC Verdict: Can States Say No to NEP?
- May 29, 2025, 5:02 p.m.
On Friday (9/05/2025), the Supreme Court declared that it can step in when a state's activities regarding the National Education Policy (NEP) offend fundamental rights. Still, it cannot raise Article 32 of the Constitution to oblige any state to take over the policy. A bench containing Justices R Mahadevan and J.B. Pardiwala made this notice when dismissing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that attempted a directive for Tamil Nadu and many other states to carry out the NEP. The bench also clarified that it did not mean to treat the subject by the current written petition, but might regard it in a more appropriate proceeding.
“The question of whether states should assume the NEP 2020 is complicated. Regarding Article 32 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court can provide instructions to defend citizens' rights, but cannot directly authorise a state to follow a policy like the NEP 2020. Still, the Court may interfere if a state's activities relevant to the NEP conflict with fundamental rights. We’re not verifying that problem in this petition," the bench stated.
When hearing the plea, the Court requested the petitioner, Advocate G.S. Mani, to clear up his connection and identity with the NEP. Mani answered that he was originally from TN and now lives in Delhi. He also said that he had not been able to learn Hindi in TN as schools there did not teach the language, which made it hard for him to study it later.
Justice Pardiwala quickly questioned, “Can you learn Hindi language in Delhi, now?” The Court resolved that the petitioner had no direct participation in the issue he tried to address. Even though the petitioner is from TN, he accepted that he currently lives in New Delhi. Based on these facts, we ignore the petition,” the bench ruled.
In his plea, Mani indicated that all states are constitutionally forced to carry out the NEP in both spirit and letter to sign the MoU with the Union Government to ease its performance. He argued that the policy does not impose Hindi or need states to make it compulsory in the curriculum as well. Rather, it provides financial help to include subjects like English, Hindi, and other state languages.
