Supreme Court rejects plea to make yoga compulsory in schools

New Delhi: Observing that it was not for the courts to frame school curriculum, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed PILs, which had sought to make yoga compulsory in schools across India.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta said that it was not for them to design curriculum for schools and that the government, with its experts, were the right forum to do it. “There is indeed a fundamental right to education but there is no fundamental right to do Yoga under this right,” observed Justice Lokur.

The bench added: “We can’t decide what is to be taught in schools, that's for the government to do.” Even as the petitioner said that there have been notifications issued by the Central government in this regard, the Court pointed out no judicial order could be passed to include any subject in the curriculum.

The bench was hearing petitions seeking directions to all central and state governments-run and funded schools to include yoga as a subject in school education.