The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in Tamil Nadu.
The petition was filed by advocate G.S. Mani, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who argued that Tamil Nadu, along with a few other states, had yet to implement the NEP. He urged the court to issue suitable directives to enforce the policy in these states.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih heard the plea. After reviewing the petition, the court ruled that it could not compel any state to adopt the NEP, stating that whether or not a state chooses to implement the policy is a complex matter involving policy discretion.
The judges clarified that judicial intervention is only justified when a state's action or inaction violates the fundamental rights of citizens. In this case, they found no such violation that would warrant the court’s involvement.
“Whether the states should adopt the National Education Policy 2020 or not is a vexed issue. The Supreme Court, under Article 32 of the Constitution, can intervene only when fundamental rights are at stake. It cannot mandate the implementation of a policy like the NEP,” the bench observed.
The court also noted that the petitioner, though originally from Tamil Nadu, currently resides in New Delhi. As a result, the bench questioned his direct stake in the matter and found no sufficient basis for the PIL.
Citing the lack of locus standi and the absence of any fundamental rights violation, the court dismissed the petition.
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