A lawyers group has requested Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court A P Shah to allow the use of Hindi in courts. About 5,000 lawyers from the High Court and five district courts of the Capital requested that they be allowed to argue their cases in Hindi, apart from the English language presently being used. Lawyer Ashok Aggarwal pointed out that Article 19(A) of the Constitution stated that everyone can express themselves in any language and this was being overlooked. ‘Denying the use of Hindi in courts is a violation of this fundamental right,’ Aggarwal said. ‘When lawyers argue in Hindi, judges do not pay attention to them and English has become a status symbol,’ he added. Moreover, Article 348 of the Constitution provides for arguing court cases in English as well as regional languages, Aggarwal pointed out. Hindi is being used in the High Courts of Rajasthan, Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh, but not in the national Capital, Aggarwal stated.