SC drops CBSE Class 9 three-language policy pleas from Wednesday list

The hearing on petitions challenging the mandatory implementation of the three-language policy for CBSE Class 9 students was deferred by the Supreme Court on Tuesday after the matter was removed from the Wednesday’s cause list. The petitioners urged the court to take up the issue urgently, arguing that students across the country are already being affected by the policy. However, taking note of the submissions, Chief Justice Surya Kant indicated that the matter could be listed for hearing on Wednesday.Appearing for the petitioners before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said the matter had earlier been listed for hearing but was subsequently de-listed from the court's cause list. He stressed that the issue required immediate intervention as the academic session was already underway.Sankaranarayanan told the court that many students were unable to study the language they had opted for because schools did not have the required teachers or textbooks. He said the problem was affecting students in Classes 5 to 8 as well as those entering Classes 9 and 10, with some children attending classrooms where neither teachers nor study material were available.PETITIONERS QUESTION IMPLEMENTATION OF LANGUAGE POLICYCiting West Bengal as an example, the senior advocate said schools in Kolkata offered Hindi, Bengali and Sanskrit as language options, but many did not have teachers to teach Sanskrit or Hindi. He further argued that while the three-language formula envisages offering students a choice from 22 languages, most schools do not have the infrastructure or resources to provide those options. He added that the framework was originally meant to be implemented by 2030, but schools were currently unable to meet its requirements.Justice Bagchi observed that the choice of languages should ideally be made from Class 6 and that the options offered to students should be practical and capable of being implemented by schools.Sankaranarayanan also urged the court to do away with the compulsory three-language requirement for Class 9 students, saying they are already under additional academic pressure as they prepare for board examinations.- EndsPublished By: Mridusmita DekaPublished On: Aug 4, 2026 18:22 IST