Hindi may be the national language, but the judiciary still swears by the Queen's English. Now, language is the bone of contention between lawyers and judges with a section of lawyers alleging that Delhi's judges prefer English-speaking lawyers to Hindi-speaking ones.
Alleging discrimination by judges, the lawyers now want to be allowed to argue cases in Hindi. Launching a "signature campaign" last week, a group of lawyers from Delhi High Court and the five district courts made a petition to the effect.
Spearheading the campaign, Ashok Aggarwal, president of the Delhi unit of the lawyers' association, said use of Hindi in courts will not only help lawyers present their cases in a better way, it will also benefit the litigants. "Most litigants are not well versed in English. For the better understanding of the litigants and that of their counsels, it is important for the courts to encourage using Hindi," Aggarwal said.
Sharing an anecdote, Aggarwal said once a lawyer was asked to sit down by a HC judge and was stopped in the middle of arguments for using Hindi. "The judge told him that Hindi was not the language to be used in courts," he said, adding that the Delhi High Court Act does not allow lawyers to argue in Hindi.
So far, the petition has managed to get the support of 3000 lawyers. "We have received a huge response and collected over 3,000 signatures so far to support our campaign," Aggarwal informed. The association's aim is to collect 5000 signatures and then the petition will be sent to Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.
Meanwhile, many trial court judges appreciated the move stating that it will help the judiciary in getting over the "British hangover". "It is a great attempt on the part of the lawyers. Our constitution provides for equality and everyone should be allowed to use the national language in courts. In trial courts, using hindi is still allowed but one cannot argue in English in HC. It's high time things change," a metropolitan magistrate said.
