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A Karnataka High Court bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Krishna Kumar today stayed the operation of the order issued by the Karnataka State Government making Kannada compulsory for students at the graduate level.

Court noted that in the view of the Central Government’s stand that Kannada cannot be made compulsory in order to implement the New National Education Policy, the orders of the State government dated August 7, 2021, and September 15, 2021, cannot be implemented.

Court further asked the Center to clear its stand on the issue by noting that the New NEP does not mention making any language compulsory. Court noted that NEP-2020 was designed to achieve a comprehensive education system in order to enable access to education keeping in mind the circumstances at the local, regional, and national levels.

Earlier, on December 16, 2021, Court had passed an interim order asking the state government to not compel students to study the Kannada language if they do not wish to study it.

The orders were passed in a plea filed by Samskrita Bharti Karnataka Trust challenging the orders of the government on the grounds that they were contrary to freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in the Constitution. Their plea further stated that the orders were arbitrary in nature.

Case title: Samakrita Bharti Karnataka Trust Vs Union of India