Parents challenging compulsory Kannada before Karnataka HC submit student details in sealed envelopes

The counsel for the parents argued that the sealed envelopes were for the sake of the privacy of the students so that the minors would not need to be part of court records.

The bench raised concerns regarding this, pointing out that, “It is an unjustified apprehension, here they are raising purely academic and constitutional issues. If the children are so delicate then how will they face life in future? You are making your children timid. Unless the children face challenges in life…so many adversities in life. Life may not always be kind to you. Life may be cruel at a point in time, it may test everything of yours unless you make yourself competent enough to face challenges.”

Twenty parents had approached the high court contending that the Kannada Language Learning Act, 2015, the Kannada Language Learning Rules, 2017 and the Karnataka Educational Institutions (Issue of No Objection Certificate and Control) Rules, 2022, were contradictory and had illegally imposed Kannada as a compulsory subject even in CBSE and ICSE schools.

The court finally granted the request, accepting the details provided so far, leaving two weeks for the remaining students to do the same.

(With inputs from PTI)