In a significant decision, the Supreme Court of India has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to compel the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The apex court made it clear that it cannot issue directions to enforce the NEP in individual states, reaffirming the federal structure of the Constitution and the autonomy granted to states in matters of education. “We cannot issue a writ of mandamus to enforce a policy decision of the Union government in states,” the bench observed.

The PIL had alleged that these three states were intentionally not implementing the NEP, raising concerns over the imposition of Hindi and central overreach in the education sector. However, the Supreme Court outright rejected the argument that opposition to the NEP stemmed from fears of Hindi imposition. “We see no merit in the claim that the states are avoiding the NEP solely due to apprehensions around Hindi,” the court stated.