Tamil exemption: SC to hear plea against HC order

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear on February 6 a plea challenging the Madras High Court order, which had refused to quash the guidelines for granting exemption to students from giving the Tamil language paper in Class 10 board examination.

The High Court had in September 2019 said the government letter of July 18, 2016, which contained the guidelines for granting exemption to students from writing the Tamil language paper at the Class 10 board examination, cannot be quashed.

However, the High Court had directed the authorities concerned to grant exemption to students in linguistic minority schools from writing Tamil language paper in the Class 10 examination for the academic years 2020-2022.

The matter came up for hearing on Monday before a bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner - Linguistic Minorities Forum of Tamil Nadu -- told the bench about the plea in the High Court and referred to the July 2016 letter. The apex court referred to the High Court order and said it has granted an exemption for the academic years 2020-2022.

“We will examine it. The issue is what is to be done for the students,” it observed. The bench told the lawyer appearing for Tamil Nadu that the state has said that those who migrated to the state will get an exemption. “Why don’t you give an exemption to recognised linguistic minorities,” the bench observed.

The top court, which posted the matter for hearing on February 6, said some arrangements have to be made for 2023 also since, as per the High Court order, the exemption was granted only for 2020-2022.