Overview

• The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by BJP lawyer GS Mani seeking the mandatory implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in three non-Hindi-speaking states.
• The bench, led by justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, reaffirmed that states have autonomy in policy adoption unless a violation of fundamental rights is evident.
• The petitioner argued that rejecting the NEP denies children their constitutional right to free education, but the court questioned his legal standing as he resides in New Delhi.
• Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal oppose the NEP’s three-language formula, citing concerns over Hindi imposition and infringement on state autonomy.
• The Union government’s decision to withhold Samagra Shiksha funding from these states over their refusal to implement the NEP remains unresolved.