Context
The use of regional languages in the High Courts of India has been a contentious issue, reflecting broader societal concerns about access to justice and the inclusivity of the legal system. Despite constitutional provisions allowing for the use of regional languages, the practical implementation remains limited.
Constitutional Framework
Article 348: Language of the Judiciary: The Indian Constitution provides a framework for the language of proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Courts through Article 348.
- Article 348(1) stipulates that all proceedings in these courts shall be conducted in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
- Article 348(2) allows the Governor of a state to authorize the use of Hindi or any other official language in the High Court, subject to the President’s approval.
While these provisions theoretically support the use of regional languages, the practical application has been limited, with only a few states successfully implementing them.
Status of Regional Language Usage Till Date: While it is allowed by Four High Courts including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh high courts and the Patna HC to have their proceedings in Hindi. Next to the last is in 1972 when Bihar was given permission for Hindi as its official language. This low take-up figure highlights one of the primary remaining barriers for this group — even in having an access to justice if you are not an English speaker.
Judicial Proceedings and Accessibility: High court processes Anglophone nature puts off most citizens who would have wanted to access justice. Theoretically, in the view of legal scholars this kind of a situation turns litigants into onlookers while granting justice to all is an essential feature of any system of natural justice. And the communication is not easy which creates potentially confusion and questions on legal rights or procedures.
Challenges to the Implementation of Regional Languages
- Uniformity and Legal Consistency: One of the key objections against deployment of regional languages in High Courts is that it may disrupt the required uniformities. Since the many judges and lawyers speak English, this language for them has become a kind of esperanto. It could lead to inconsistent and disparate legal proceedings with distortions as a law framed in one language may present nuances that it intentionally/ unintentionally leaves out (deliberately or possibly inadvertently) of other languages.
- Proficiency Concerns: A significant issue with the use of regional languages is the proficiency of judges and legal professionals, who are predominantly trained in English. Their limited understanding of regional languages can result in poor communication during court proceedings. There have been cases where judges struggled with arguments presented in Hindi, leading to confusion and prolonged trials.
- Judicial Resistance: The judiciary is one of the most conservative spaces, both in relation to linguistic policies and reforms. The apprehension of adopting regional languages is probably because people think it may result in more legal exposure towards different interpretations and application for the same process to have a variation amidst all kinds of dialects.
The Case for Regional Languages
- Access to Justice: Regional languages in High Courts would allow a significant part of the population that struggles from legal proceedings conducted entirely in English. If regional languages were allowed, the use of legal information could be expanded and more people would have an opportunity to understand how society functions in terms of lawfulness as they participate actively in their own affairs.
- Cultural Importance: Promoting the regional languages in court when we talk about India which is so diverse culturally makes a lot of sense. It is more culturally sensitive to the judiciary and provides empowerment of local populations by allowing them to interface with laws and judicial processes in their native language, encouraging ownership of the legal system.
- Support for genuine local governance: Justice delivered in the language of a given region would enhance citizen-official connect and encourage deeper participation at various levels of jurisdiction. By adopting this approach, it may result in more reliable trust on behalf of the court and bigger active citizen engagement with legal matters.
Recent Developments and Advocacy
- There has however been a recent push for the allowance of regional languages to be used in occasions such as the High Court.
- Legal professionals and human rights defenders stress that increasing the availability of justice is crucial for a just legal service provision system.
- Recommendations have provided for the utilization of a number of the regional languages like Tamil, Gujarati, Bengali and Kannada, in the respective High Courts.
- Nevertheless, there is apparent advocacy for the rights of the people with mental disorders; the central authorities’ reaction is, however, reluctant.
- Measures for the adoption of regional languages have faced resistance in the past indicating reasons such as disruption of legal system homogeneity and lack of skill from legal translators.
Source: The Hindu