Minister Made No Statement Against 'Hindi': Karnataka High Court Slaps ₹1Lakh Cost On PIL Against SSLC Exam Grading Policy
The Karnataka High Court today imposed ₹1 lakh costs on a PIL litigant for wrongly claiming that the State Education Minister, through a policy prescribing grading system for third language SSLC exam (including Hindi), was "doing away" with Hindi language.
Pointing towards sensitivity of the matter, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C.M Poonacha orally said,
"...The statement that Hindi should be done away with…no such statement is seen in the newspaper article...The present petition is not motivated by public interest…it may be to seek publicity.”
For context, Madhu Bangarappa, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in Karnataka government had recently announced grading system instead of the marking system for third languages, such as Hindi, Urdu and Arabic. This essentially means that the scores obtained in third languages wouldn't be included in the final marksheet. The intent reportedly, is to reduce the academic pressure on SSLC students.
The Petitioner however claimed that the move is a step towards doing away with Hindi language.
Taking exception to this, the Court orally said, "the plea filed is an example of why an undertaking ought to be sought from the petitioners in the PIL to the effect that costs could be imposed on them."
The petitioner has been directed to pay ₹1 lakh costs to the Karnataka Legal Services Authority (KLSA) failing which, the same would be recovered as land revenue arrears.
The plea had stated that no changes, as proposed by the Minister, should be effected to the existing language policy regarding Hindi in the SSLC exams in the absence of a proper government order. Chandana H N, the PIL-petitioner, also sought the court's direction to set aside the statement made by the Minister on the third language policy to be followed in SSLC exams.
Case Title: Chandana H N v. State of Karnataka & Ors.
Case No: WP 10676/2026