Apex court says no to use of Gujarati in state HC

The Supreme Court of India has rejected the state government's proposal to allow use of Gujarati in the state high court. Member of Parliament from Ahmedabad East Harin Pathak had raised the question in the Lok Sabha recently regarding the status of proposal of Gujarat government for allowing use of Gujarati in the high court.

Union minister of law and justice Ashwani Kumar, in his written reply to Pathak, told, "The proposal of the government of Gujarat to authorize the use of Gujarati language in the proceedings of the high court of Gujarat and similar proposals regarding use of Tamil and Hindi in the proceedings of the Madras and Chhattisgarh high courts respectively, were all referred to the Supreme Court for the views of the chief justice of India (CJI)."

"As per the decision of the competent authority in its meeting held on May 21, 1965, comments of the CJI are necessary before the department of official language in Union ministry of home affairs could consider such proposals. The CJI has intimated that the proposals regarding use of Hindi, Tamil and Gujarati in the high courts of Chhattisgarh, Madras and Gujarat respectively, have been considered by the Supreme Court in the meeting held on October 11, 2012," Kumar has said.

"The court, after due deliberations, has decided not to accept the proposals and have reiterated the earlier similar resolutions of the Supreme Court adopted on May 7, 1997, and October 15, 1999. The decision of Supreme Court has been conveyed to the department of official language," the minister has added.

The proposal to authorize the use of Gujarati language in the proceedings of the Gujarat high court was approved by the council of ministers, the state assembly and the governor and forwarded for consideration to the Centre.

States like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan already use of Hindi in the proceedings of their respective high courts. The Gujarat government in its proposal said that the use of official language, Gujarati, in the proceedings before the high court would increase active participation, understanding of the people at large in the judicial process and they will be able to redress their grievances in the language with which they are conversant.