START TEACHING LAW TO STUDENTS FROM 8TH STANDARD - KERALA HC DISMISSES THE PETITION

The Kerala High Court dismissed the petition filed for the inclusion of law subjects in the secondary and Higher classes of all schools, in which the court held they aren't experts.

The division bench comprising said, "...such a course of action and deep-seated study cannot be undertaken by a Court of law, and the court is not an expert to analyze the issues and the requirements of the community in a larger perspective, and without undertaking any such studies through experts, no direction can be issued to the Central as well as the State Governments to frame a policy in a particular manner...the petitioner is attempting to persuade this Court to step into unwanted and prohibited areas, enjoyed by the law-making agencies of the respective Governments."

The court was dealing with a matter of public interest litigation, filed by a practicing lawyer in order to seek direction from the Ministry of Education, CBSE, ICSE, Secretary of State Department of General Education, and the Chairman of SCERT for the inclusion of law, preferably for standard 8th. The petition made by the practicing lawyer to include law was for the wider perspective to select the area in which the student wants to pursue his/her career.

The question before the High court was 'whether any such positive action could be granted by the court while exercising its discretionary power conferred under Article 226 of the Indian constitution.

The court said, "It goes without saying, legislation is an absolute domain of the parliament and the State legislatures, and therefore, without adequate reasons, a writ court cannot step into the shoes of the legislature and issue directions, which if done, would be nothing but a clear encroachment into a prohibited domain transgressing its jurisdiction, and thereby upset and topple the constitutional framework envisioned by the framers of the Constitution of India."

Author: Papiha Ghoshal