New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking Yoga compulsory from class1 to class 8 in schools across India saying the court was not the place 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 the bench led by Justice Madan B Lokur.
"We can't decide what is to be taught... that's for the government to do", the judges added.
When the petitioner pointed out that there have been notifications issued by the Central government in this regard, the Court said no judicial order could be passed to include any subject in the curriculum.
In their petition, lawyer J C Seth and G L Tandon sought directions to all central and state governments-run and funded schools to include yoga as a subject in school education in conformity with the Right to Education Act as well as the National Curriculum Framework 2005.
The Supreme Court had earlier in November, dismissed the petition filed by Ashwini Upadhyay.
In his petition, Upadhyay had sought direction to the Human Resource Development Ministry, the National Council of Educational Research and Training, the National Council for Teacher Education and the Central Board of Secondary Education to "provide standard textbooks of 'yoga and health education' for students of Class 1 to 8" in spirit of the Constitution's Article 21A read with Article 14, 15 and 21.
Demand to make Yoga compulsory in schools is raised claiming that it is a form of exercise. But, those opposing it are of the view that some postures of Yoga are actually based on Hindu religious faith done to please Hindu Gods.