Sign the Petition

Sign the Petition

Justice in Our Mother Tongue

Demand State Languages as Official High Court Languages Now!

Join the StateLanguageInCourts campaign to demand the right to use our State language in High court proceedings. By signing this petition, you’re supporting equal access to justice and empowering voices in our legal system.

 

THE PETITION!

     WE THE PEOPLE are collectively, constitutionally and democratically struggling to make our State Languages also as Official Languages of the High Courts in the respective states.   

     It is important to mention that the framers of our constitution intentionally provided the Article 348(2) of the Constitution of India,1950 for an easy procedure to follow and implement; without much hurdles and red-tapisim, the right of the people to have their mother tongues that which are official languages of the state, also as official languages of the High Courts having principal seats in the concerned states; within a short period from independence. By following the said intention of the framers of our constitution, on the 14th of February 1950 itself, the State of Rajasthan invoked the power given under the Article 348(2) of the Constitution of India and made Hindi as an official language of its High Court.

 

    Further, as per Article 344(1) of the Constitution of India, the language commission was formulated under the chairmanship of Mr. B.G. Ker and the said commission produced its report to the parliamentary committee which was formed under Article 344(4) of the Constitution and the said report was placed before both the houses of parliament for a detailed debate from 2nd April to 9th April  1959. Considering all the aspects of the language commission report, the parliamentary committee made its recommendations as per Article 344(5) and a presidential order was issued on 27/04/1960 following Article 344(6) of the Constitution. The said presidential order empowered the law ministry to enact a new Act to pronounce orders, judgments and decrees in the official language of the state. In continuation to the various efforts the Indian Official Languages Act came into force in 1963 and Section 7 of the said Act gave sanction to the usage of Hindi or any Official Language of the state in addition to English in pronouncement of orders, judgments and decrees in High Courts.

 

    Following which even in the years 1969, 1971 and 1972 the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar respectively, with the prior consent of the President of India, authorized the use of the official languages of their respective States, in all the proceedings of their respective High Courts and on the same lines, on 06.12.2006 a unanimous resolution was passed by the legislative assembly of Tamilnadu and the proposal was sent to the Government of India with a recommendation of the Governor of Tamil Nadu for getting the prior consent of the President of India for authorizing the use of Tamil in the High Courts at Madras as per the Constitution and Law.

 

    Earlier, the state of West Bengal had sent its request to the central government to get prior consent of the President of India for authorizing the use of Bengali language in the proceedings of the High Courts at Calcutta in 1997. But the central government did not send the file to the President of India for getting consent as provided in the Constitution, on the contrary the same was arbitrarily sent to the Supreme Court of India which is also a violation of Article 348(2) of Indian Constitution and Section 7 of Indian official Language Act, 1963 which is again a Constitutional Law as mentioned above. 

 

    In 2012, the present Prime Minster Mr. Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat as he then was, sent a request to the central government seeking consent of the President of India for use of Gujarati language in the proceedings of Gujarat High Court. This time also the central government sent the request of the State of Gujarat and the request of the State of Tamilnadu for reconsideration to the Supreme Court of India and the same were rejected on 11/10/2012.

 

    Further, in 2015, the State of Karnataka sent its request seeking consent of the President of India for the use of Kanada language in the proceedings of High Courts of Karnataka. Now, the request of Karnataka, along with another request of the State of Tamilnadu dated 10/06/2014 for reconsideration were sent to the Supreme Court of India and the same were rejected by the Supreme Court of India on 16/12/2015.

 

    A parliamentary standing committee on law and justice which was headed by Dr. Sudharsan Nachiappan recommended in its 75th report on 27/04/2015, in its twentieth meeting, that scheduled languages other than English may be permitted to be used in the High Courts, provided it is demanded by the concerned State Government. Further the said committee clarified that the consultation process with judiciary is not required as the constitutional provisions are amply clear on the use of scheduled languages in the High Courts. Even after these recommendations of the parliamentary committee dated 27/04/2015, the requests from states were sent to the Supreme Court of India and were rejected on 16/12/2015.  The same parliamentary standing committee on law and justice reiterated its recommendations in its 84th report also in 2016.

 

          Thus it is now clarified and more so reiterated that if a demand is put forth by a State to implement the State’s Official Language as also the Official Language of the Hight Court having principal seat in the concerned state, it can be implemented immediately without any further delay and without the arbitrary and unnecessary consultation with the Supreme Court of India. In spite of the same the central government is denying the constitutional right of Non-Hindi speaking states citing the said rejections of Supreme Court of India.

 

          International Mother Language Day(21st February), first proclaimed by UNESCO and later adopted by the UN General Assembly, underscores the role of languages in promoting inclusion and achieving Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) one of which aims at “providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.  It is in the interest of the transparency of the Judiciary that WE need to make it possible for the arguments and proceedings in the High Courts to be clearer and easier for the litigants in the official languages of the concerned states and more so with the inclusion of the advocates and parties in person who, if given the opportunity to draft and plead in a mother tongue, will be able to express their views better, contributing to the clarity and depth of the legal discourse and in turn the quality of judgements which then could be translated to English, if and when necessary for an appeal, with the advent/advance of technology, including Artificial Intelligence, that which the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India is also employing currently and more so correctly in the letter and spirit of the Constitution of India.

Every signature counts—let’s make justice accessible for all!

Purpose

About the Campaign

StateLanguageInCourts is a dedicated movement advocating for the right to use our State language in court proceedings. We believe that justice should be accessible to all, and language should never be a barrier to understanding or participating in the legal system.

Legal arguments presented in a familiar language empower individuals, ensuring fair representation and fostering trust in the judicial process. Our campaign is rooted in the belief that every citizen deserves the right to express themselves in a language they understand best, especially when it concerns legal matters that directly impact their lives.

Through public engagement, petitions, and legal advocacy, StateLanguageInCourts aims to:

  • Promote the use of state languages in highcourt courtrooms to ensure fair and equal access to justice.
  • Raise awareness about the challenges non-native speakers face in legal proceedings.
  • Collaborate with legal experts, policymakers, and communities to bring meaningful change to the judicial system.

By supporting this campaign, you are helping to create a more inclusive legal system where every voice is heard and understood. Together, we can bridge the gap between citizens and the justice system by breaking down language barriers.

Join us in making justice truly accessible for all.