Supreme Court seeks response from Centre, CBSE & NCERT on plea against 3rd language mandate for Class 9

A CJI-led bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, to submit a report on the logistical preparedness for implementing the new rule.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought responses from the Centre, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on a petition challenging the decision to make the study of a third language compulsory for Class 9 students from the 2026-27 academic session.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, to submit a report on the logistical preparedness for implementing the new rule.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing in a connected matter, argued that the issue involved significant constitutional questions.

He pointed out that textbooks for the third language were not even available yet.

Sibal contended that the move amounted to an imposition and described it as a “federal issue”, asserting that language should remain a matter of choice rather than compulsion.

The petitioners’ counsel urged the bench to direct CBSE not to implement the decision from July 1, the start of the new academic year. However, the court declined to pass any interim order. “We will see,” Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing in the second week of July.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed by a group of 19 petitioners, including parents and teachers from Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Chennai, against the Union of India, CBSE and NCERT.

The petition challenges the CBSE circular that mandates Class 9 students to study three languages — R1, R2 and R3 — from July 1, 2026, with at least two of them being native Indian languages.