Supreme Court refuses interim stay on CBSE's three-language policy

Business Standard reports that the Supreme Court has declined to grant interim relief to petitioners challenging CBSE's three-language policy, meaning the policy will remain in force as the case proceeds. The petitioners had sought a stay on the policy while their legal challenge was being heard, but the court refused, allowing the Central Board of Secondary Education's language framework to continue applying to its affiliated schools across the country.

The three-language formula has historically required students in CBSE schools to study three languages — typically Hindi, English, and a third regional or classical language. The policy has been a flashpoint in India's language politics, with states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka viewing mandatory Hindi instruction as linguistic imposition by the Centre, while the formula's proponents argue it promotes national integration and multilingualism.

CBSE affiliates tens of thousands of schools across India and overseas, making its language policy one of the most widely felt curriculum decisions in the country's education system.

The Supreme Court's refusal to stay the policy, even temporarily, is a significant procedural setback for the petitioners and signals that the bench does not see an immediate case for disrupting the status quo. The substantive hearing on whether the policy is constitutionally valid will continue.