Supreme Court rejects petition to make Yoga compulsory in schools

The Supreme Court has turned down a plea to make Yoga education mandatory in schools. It further added that the court cannot decide what is to be taught and only the government can take decisions on such issues
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has turned down a plea to make Yoga education mandatory for students of classes 1-8 across the country. It further added that the court cannot decide what is to be taught and only the government can take decisions on such issues.
Rejecting the petition to impose yoga practice among students, a bench headed by Justice M B Lokur said, “We are nobody to say what is to be taught in schools. It is none of our business. How can we direct that.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government told the Supreme Court that yoga cannot be enforced as a fundamental right under children’s right to free and compulsory education.
The top court said it was not possible for it to grant the relief as sought by petitioners – Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a lawyer and Delhi BJP spokesperson and J C Seth. “What is to be taught in schools is not a fundamental right,” it said.
Upadhyay had petitioned that students of Class 1-8 be provided “standard textbooks of ‘yoga and health education” in spirit of “various fundamental rights such as right to life, education and equality.”
It had said that right to health cannot be secured without providing ‘yoga and health education’ to all children or framing a ‘national yoga policy’ to promote and propagate it.