The Supreme Court has issued a mandamus order in a writ petition filed against the act of punishing students for speaking their mother tongue in schools.
Stating that no action or punishment can be taken against students, the Court has ordered PABSON, the umbrella organization of private schools, as well as all private schools to not engage in or enforce such practices.
Law students Ayush Badal, Smriti Adhikari, and Bibek Bakhrel had filed the writ petition at the Supreme Court on May 27.
After the petition was filed, a bench of Justice Sunil Kumar Pokharel issued a show-cause order and an interim order on May 30.
Delivering its verdict in the case on November 19, a bench of Justices Tek Prasad Dhungana and Shanti Singh Thapa issued the mandamus order.
According to law student Badal, the court has issued a mandamus order to create appropriate policies, implementation guidelines, and monitoring mechanisms regarding the matter.
“The Supreme Court has now clearly ordered that no private school can take action against a student for speaking Nepali or their mother tongue. We had demanded a mandamus order to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Education to create the guidelines and mechanisms for implementation. Accordingly, the Court has issued the mandamus,” he said.
However, the full text of the order has not yet been released.
