Panel rejects Hindi as official court language

NEW DELHI Dec. 16: The Law Commission of India has rejected a parliamentary committee recommendation for making Hindi the official court language for delivering judgments in the Supreme Court and the high courts. The parliamentary committee had also recommended that the Constitution should be amended to enable the law and justice ministry to undertake original drafting of laws in Hindi. The report states: “No language should be thrust on any section of the people against their will since it is likely to become counter-productive.” The report prepared by the Law Commission of India, headed by Justice A.R. Lakshmanan, is expected to be submitted to law minister H.R. Bhardwaj this week. The commission consulted several former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, retired Supreme Court and high court judges and eminent lawyers for preparing the report. “Judges at the higher level should be left free to evolve their own pattern of delivering judgments. Under the present national transfer policy of high court judges, if any judge is compelled to deliver judgments in a language in which he is not well versed, it might become extremely difficult for him to work judicially,” the commission adds. “Furthermore, the unity and integrity of the country may be affected by linguistic chauvinists and the switch over from English to Hindi in the SC and HCs will create political and legal unrest throughout the country,” the report adds.

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