The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to grant interim relief on a petition challenging the implementation of the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) three-language policy for Class 9 students from the 2026–27 academic session.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohana ordered that the petition filed by NGO Friends of People for Active Democracy be tagged with similar matters already pending before the court. The bench said it could not pass an interim order and listed the matter for hearing on July 14.

The petitioner clarified that it was not challenging the three-language policy itself, but its implementation. During the hearing, the court noted that the matter had already been argued at length and observed that there was no basis for granting interim protection at this stage.

On May 27, the Supreme Court agreed to examine the challenge to the policy and issued notices to the Centre, CBSE and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), seeking detailed responses. The court had also asked the Centre to submit a report on the preparedness of CBSE to implement the policy.

Under a CBSE circular issued on May 15, the study of three languages will become compulsory for Class 9 students from July 1, 2026, with at least two of the languages required to be native Indian languages. The policy forms part of the board’s alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

Students choosing a foreign language may do so only as a third language after studying two native Indian languages, or as an additional fourth language. CBSE has stated that no board examination will be conducted for the third language at the Class 10 level. Assessment will remain school-based and internal, and students will not be barred from appearing for Class 10 board examinations on account of the third language requirement.

The board has directed schools to update their third-language offerings for Classes 6 to 9 by June 30. It has also outlined measures to address teacher shortages, including resource sharing among schools, virtual teaching support and the engagement of retired teachers and qualified postgraduates.

CBSE has provided for relaxations for children with special needs in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, while foreign students returning to India may be granted exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

The board had earlier announced the phased implementation of the three-language formula from Class 6 and the introduction of a two-level system for mathematics and science in Class 9 from the 2026–27 academic session.

Inputs from PTI

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