( 1 ) IN the first seven petitions, the petitioners representing Urdu, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil linguistic minorities in the State, have challenged the constitutional validity of the State government's Order dated 20th July 1982, by which the study of Kannada was made a compulsory additional subject by children belonging to the respective linguistic minorities, who are having their primary education in mother-tongue from the first year of the primary school and as the sole first language, out of the three languages required to be studied in the High schools and have prayed for its quashing and have also sought for the issue of appropriate consequential directions.

( 2 ) HAVING regard to the National and Constitutional importance of the question arising for consideration in these petitions, the matters were referred to Division Bench under Section 9 of the Karnataka High Court Act. The Division Bench in turn, referred questions relating to the constitutional validity of the Government Order, to Full Bench under Section 7 of the Act. Before the Full Bench, the contentions of the petitioners in these petitions was that having regard to the fundamental right guaranteed