Won’t impose yoga on anyone, go and persuade people to take it up, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would not impose yoga on anyone and refused to entertain a PIL seeking to make the ancient practice mandatory in the school curriculum.

"Go and persuade people to take up yoga. If people want, they will pick it up themselves. It is for the government and academicians to decide what should be included in the school curriculum," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur, Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice L N Rao said.

Petitioner and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay had engaged two senior advocates — M N Krishnamani and V Shekhar — and later jumped into the arguing arena himself in an attempt to convince the bench to seek answers from the Centre. But the bench refused to entertain the petition while permitting the petitioner to intervene in a pending petition filed by advocate J C Seth on the same issue that will be taken up for hearing on November 29.

At the beginning of the hearing, the CJI made light of Upadhyay's petition by asking Krishnamani, "In this polluted atmosphere, are you practising yoga? Can you name an 'asana'? Krishnamani named 'pranayam' as one yoga but the bench was unimpressed.

To test the senior advocate's knowledge in yoga, the CJI asked, "What is the last asana done after a yoga session?" Krishnamani failed to answer it. The CJI said it was 'shavasana', one which everyone who does yoga loves to do as it is relaxing. Finding Krishnamani's knowledge on yoga limited, the CJI said, "You are espousing a wrong cause."