The Supreme Court on Friday expressed misgivings on the Karnataka police action against Marathi-speaking population in Yellur village, near Belgaum.
A three-judge Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha, voiced concern that if a “State acts in this manner, nothing can be more serious”.
Decades’ old boundary tensions between Maharashtra and Karnataka peaked when the latter’s officials removed a ‘Maharashtra Rajya’ signboard at Yellur village, near Belgaum, last week.
The villagers re-installed the signboard, and this had led to the clamp down of Karnataka police against the Marathi community on Sunday.
The Maharashtra Cabinet had on July 30 adopted a resolution condemning the police action.
The Bench was hearing the boundary dispute between the neighbouring States pending before the court.
The hearing also witnessed the Bench issue notice to Maharashtra government on an application made by Karnataka seeking the court's intervention to direct Maharashtra to stop giving permission to open Marathi schools in 44 villages of Jath taluk.
The application said, “in spite of the fact that 69.1 per cent of people in 44 villages of Jath taluk are overwhelmingly Kannada speakers, compulsorily more Marathi schools are being opened”.
It said these people are “forced” to send their children to Marathi-medium schools.
It said 88 Marathi-medium schools are run by the zilla panchayat and Maharashtra government is proposing to open 26 Marathi high schools in the private sector there.
“Despite repeated requests of the villagers, Kannada-medium schools are being sidelined and Marathi-medium schools are encouraged by the State of Maharashtra,” the application said.
