Supreme Court asked Tamil Nadu and Centre to resolve Navodaya language differences.
Court granted Tamil Nadu three months to identify land in every district.
Tamil Nadu opposes Navodaya schools’ Hindi-inclusive three-language policy on constitutional grounds.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Tamil Nadu Goverment to resolve its differences with central government on the language policy, asserting that it is not possible that Hindi can't be taught in the state.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih said the two governments should address the dispute through dialogue and cooperative federalism rather than treat the centrally funded schools, in this case Jawahar Navodaya schools, as a threat to Tamil Nadu’s education system.
The court also refused to recall its December 15, 2025, order requiring Tamil Nadu to identify suitable land for Navodaya schools in every district. It gave the state another three months to complete the exercise.
“You have to change your mindset, it can’t be that Hindi will not be taught in the soil of Tamil Nadu,” Justice Nagarathna said during the hearing.
Tamil Nadu Opposes Three-Language Policy
The case stems from Tamil Nadu’s challenge to a Madras High Court direction concerning the establishment of Navodaya schools across the state.
Navodaya Vidyalayas are centrally funded, co-educational residential schools administered by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti under the Union Ministry of Education. They follow a three-language policy that includes Hindi, while Tamil Nadu follows a two-language formula.
Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said the state was not opposed to opening schools or teaching Hindi. He argued that its objection was to the language framework attached to the Navodaya scheme.
“It is against the State policy. It supersedes Tamil. This kind of unification is not the purport of the Constitution,” Gupta said. He alleged there was “an adamancy that Hindi must predominate”.
Justice Nagarathna said the Centre could consider Tamil Nadu’s demand regarding the place of Tamil in the curriculum. “If you want Tamil as a second language, it is a matter which can be considered,” she said.
The court asked the relevant state and Central government secretaries to discuss the issue. Gupta said earlier talks had failed because the Centre had remained firm on Hindi, but agreed to another round of consultations.
Court Stresses Cooperative Federalism
Tamil Nadu argued that the judiciary could not compel it to adopt an optional Central policy through a writ of mandamus.
Gupta said education falls under the Concurrent List and that the state has the constitutional authority to frame its own education policy. He maintained that participation in the Navodaya scheme was not compulsory.
Justice Nagarathna questioned the implications of individual states refusing Central policies. “Education is in the Concurrent List. There has to be cooperative federalism. If each State says that I don't accept your policy, what will happen?” she asked.
The bench said Tamil Nadu could continue running its own schools and following its existing syllabus while allowing Navodaya institutions to offer students another option.
“Coming from Delhi, will not lower the standards of Chennai. People in Chennai should not alienate Delhi and vice versa,” the court said.
Justice Nagarathna added that Navodaya schools would provide more opportunities rather than dilute Tamil Nadu’s educational standards.
“That perception that you are surrendering to the central govt should not be there,” she told the state.
State Flags Funding, Land Concerns
Tamil Nadu also raised financial concerns, claiming that the Centre had not released ₹5,000 crore promised for education.
Gupta argued that the state could not accept further financial liabilities when money under existing schemes had allegedly not been released.
Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the Centre, said Tamil Nadu was primarily required to provide land. The Union government would bear the cost of construction and other expenditure, he said.
Nataraj added that the project was at an early stage and construction would take several years, leaving time for the two sides to settle the language dispute.
Gupta said each school could require around 30 acres and that identifying land before the state decided whether to accept the scheme would create difficulties.
The court clarified that Tamil Nadu was not being ordered to acquire land immediately. It only had to identify suitable government land in each district.
State Gets Three More Months
The Supreme Court had given Tamil Nadu six weeks in December 2025 to identify land for the proposed schools. The state later sought a recall of the direction.
The bench rejected that request but extended the compliance period by three months.
“Be that as it may, we direct the petitioner to comply with our order of 15.12.2025 in so far as identification of the land necessary to establish the school in each district,” it said.
The case will next be heard on December 14.
