- Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked why Class 6 students could not be spared the third-language exam in Class 10.
- Petitioners' lawyer Anand Grover argued English is treated as foreign, crowding out options like French and Japanese.
- Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati said: 'There was no sudden roll-out.'
On 20 August 2026, a Supreme Court bench hearing parents' challenge to the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) three-language rule asked the board to give Class 6 students and schools 'elbow space'. Under a 15 May circular, students study three languages, at least two of them Indian, and current Class 6 students faced a Class 10 board exam in their third language by 2031. Students in Classes 7 to 9 had already been exempted from that exam.
Affects lakhs of students in CBSE schools, who must now study a third language, with at least two Indian languages among the three, from Class 9 onward.
Claim by claim
From 1 July 2026, CBSE Class 9 students must study three languages, at least two of them Indian, with a foreign language allowed only as a third or fourth option.
The Indian Express describes the 15 May 2026 CBSE circular, which lists 23 language options.
The Indian ExpressThere was no sudden roll-out of the three-language scheme.
Said by Aishwarya Bhati, Additional Solicitor GeneralThe Centre says thousands of experts were consulted. Petitioners say students had no real choice, and on 28 September Zee News reported the court flagged a sudden shift in the language framework.
The Hindu · The Indian Express · Zee NewsWhat each side says
Argue the rule adds pressure on children, treats English as foreign although it is an official language, and pushes out foreign languages that students had already been learning.
The Hindu · The Indian ExpressSay the scheme follows the NEP after wide consultation with experts, was not rolled out suddenly, and already spares Classes 7 to 9 from a board exam in the third language.
The Hindu · The Indian ExpressNot yet known
- ?Whether the Centre will agree to extend the exemption to Class 6 on its own.
Sources
3 outlets across the spectrum. Leanings are a rough guide to who reported it, not a verdict on accuracy.
- The HinduSC asks CBSE to ease three-language rule for Class 6, give ‘elbow space’ to students, schools
- The Indian ExpressWe don’t want children to come under pressure: SC flags CBSE three-language policy
- Zee NewsSC flags sudden shift in language framework, grants class 6 same relief as class 7
Spasht writes original summaries. Follow the links to read each outlet's own report. Revision 1.