India's Top Court Rejects Tamil Nadu Plea on Navodaya Schools

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday rejected Tamil Nadu's plea to recall its December 2025 direction to identify land for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in every district, granting the state three more months to comply while urging continued dialogue on a language policy dispute. The court's order came as the state continues to resist the establishment of the centrally funded residential schools over their three-language formula, which includes Hindi. A bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna directed Tamil Nadu to identify suitable land within three months for the proposed schools. The court also urged the state and the central government to continue discussions to resolve their differences, with the matter scheduled for a further hearing on December 14, 2026. The core conflict centers on language. Tamil Nadu argues that the Navodaya scheme's three-language formula conflicts with its statutory two-language policy, which mandates Tamil and English. The state has maintained that participation in the central scheme is optional and that courts cannot compel it to implement a policy it opposes.