Supreme Court refuses to pass order against CBSE's 3 language policy for Class 9

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to pass any interim order on a petition challenging the implementation of the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) three-language policy for Class 9 students.

The policy, which comes into effect from the 2026-27 academic session, requires students to study three languages, including at least two native Indian languages.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana said it would not issue a temporary order and instead directed that the petition be heard along with similar cases already pending before the court. The matter has now been listed for hearing on July 14.

The petition was filed by the NGO



Friends of People for Active Democracy. During the hearing, the organisation clarified that it was not opposing the three-language policy itself but only its implementation.

The Bench, however, made it clear that interim protection was not warranted at this stage. "We cannot pass a single-line order today. This matter was argued at length. There is no question of interim protection," the court observed.

In a lighter moment during the hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant also remarked on the NGO's name, asking whether it was intended to create fear in the minds of the court or the public. The petitioner's counsel responded that it was simply the registered name of a trust established in 2013.