The division bench of Justice Ashok Agarwal and Justice S S Parkar gave this ruling recently in connection with a case filed by Parashar Pandya, a Std X student of St Lawrence High School, Borivli, through his father Bhavdeep Kanga.

The petition said Parashar's father, a businessman, originally resided in Mumbai but had shifted to Rajkot, Gujarat, for business purposes. So Parashar studied from Std I to VIII in Rajkot.

In 1996, when his father returned to Mumbai, Parashar took admission in Std IX in St Lawrence High School. Here he had to study Marathi as a compulsory subject, and he found it difficult to grasp it because he had studied from Std I to IX in Rajkot with Gujarati as the language subject.

He failed in Std IX due to poor marks in Marathi,but next year he was promoted. But as he still found it tough to learn Marathi, he asked school authorities if he could appear for his Std X exams with Gujarati as the language subject. The authorities informed him that Marathi was compulsory.In the first unit test in July 1998, he failed in Marathi and again approached school authorities with his request. The authorities told him he could approach the SSC Divisional Board for such permission. The Divisional Board, however, refused to grant his plea, saying Marathi was compulsory.He then moved the high court, contending in his petition that as per Appendix I read with Regulation No 38 (1) of the Maharashtra Secondary and Higher Secondary Board Regulations, 1977, a student was allowed to opt for Gujarati, English and Hindi instead of Marathi, English and Hindi.

He said Mumbai had a large number of students who migrated to the city every year. If Marathi is insisted upon as a compulsory subject, it willadversely affect all these students. He argued beforethe court that the SSC Board's insistence on Marathi arbitrary and unreasonable.

On behalf of the school, the headmistress filed an affidavit saying some students had opted for Sanskrit instead of Marathi, and Pandya also could have done so. She denied the school maintained that Marathi was compulsory.The division bench directed the school authorities and the Mumbai Divisional Board of the SSC Board to allow Parashar to appear with Gujarati as the optional subject.

While advocate Mukesh Vashi appeared for the petitioner Pandya, Anupama Shah represented the school authorities, and Mrs Chavan appeared for the SSC Divisional Board.