In yet another setback to the Jagan government, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined to grant an appeal for stay on the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s verdict on April 15 scrapping the GO issued to make English compulsory in government schools in Andhra Pradesh.

In its Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, the Andhra Pradesh government had argued that 80% of parents showed inclination for English education to be imparted to their children and accordingly the government was working towards implementing the same. However, the High Court had scrapped its GOs (81 and 85) thereby throwing a spanner in the government’s move to implement English education compulsory in government schools, the Andhra Pradesh had contended in the Supreme Court. In its order, the High Court had observed that the GO is against the Constitution, several judgements of the Supreme Court and the Right to Education Act and that parents’ cannot decide in which language children should be taught.

Hearing the arguments of the Andhra Pradesh government, the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give a stay on the High Court.

While declining the interim stay on the HC order, the three bench judge Justice Chandrachud, Joseph and Indu Malhotra stated that the interim stay petition will again be heard on Septmber 25.

The Supreme Court asked the government to file a counter and put off the hearing by next three weeks.
Justice Chandrachud inquired about the implications of the HC order and stated that Section 29 (2) of the RTE Act stipulates that the medium should be in mother tongue “so far as it is applicable” . “It seems the HC has taken this into account,” Justice Chandrachud observed.