NEW DELHI: In a major development on the implementation of the National Education Policy in schools, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that the benefit given to Classes VII, VIII and IX under the three-language policy be extended to Class VI as well.
A three judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana passed the order on Monday while hearing the batch of pleas filed -- including that of Yashica Bhandari Jain. The bench did not accept the Union government's plea that no exemption was needed for Class VI.
This direction of the apex court came as a breather for around 28 lakh Class 6 students. The matter will be taken up again for hearing after six weeks.
The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, argued that around 99 percent of CBSE schools were ready. Out of 28,819 affiliated schools, only 1.2 percent had reported issues. Textbooks and support material had been arranged, he said.
The court's order ensures that under the transitional arrangement, the third language will remain part of studies, but students will not have to write a separate Board examination in Class X for it. Schools will assess the subject internally and no student's promotion will be stopped for want of performance in the third language.
Granting relief to around 28 lakh Class 6 students, the bench held that the current Class VI batch will get the same protection as Class VII, including exemption from the Board examination in the third language in Class X. It further allowed students already learning two non native languages to continue them and add a Bharatiya Bhasha as the third option.
The litigation arose from a CBSE circular of May 15, 2026 which mandated three languages for Classes VI to IX, with at least two being native Indian languages. This was in furtherance of NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023. Parents and teachers who approached the court said the circular overturned an April 9, 2026 circular that had postponed the requirement to 2029-30.
According to the petitioners, the mid-session shift left schools scrambling for qualified teachers and books. It also placed additional academic burden on children who had already chosen their language combinations.
In one of the hearings in May, the Supreme Court while seeking the government's response had expressed concern over logistical preparedness.
During the hearing on Monday, Justice Bagchi observed that since the notification came in March and CBSE had achieved near universal coverage, a soft launch approach for Class VI would be appropriate.
Appearing for some petitioners, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan contended that apparent compliance figures did not reflect ground reality. Students followed the new combination because they had no alternative. He highlighted that textbooks were initially not available online and that CBSE's student base of nearly 28.83 lakh made sudden change risky. He also contrasted CBSE's approach with ICSE and state boards which had not imposed mid-stream mandates. He requested that implementation for Class VI be deferred to 2027.
