The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Union Government to constitute a commission to examine and recommend the use of Hindi as the official language of the Supreme Court.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing the plea, in which the petitioner sought the constitution of a commission to make recommendations regarding the adoption of Hindi as the official language of the apex court. Counsel appearing for the petitioner relied on various constitutional provisions and submitted that the Centre could be directed to constitute such a commission.
The Bench, however, pointed out that steps towards introducing Hindi and other regional languages were already being undertaken by the Supreme Court on the administrative side. Chief Justice Surya Kant noted that the Court had already begun providing brief descriptions of its important judgments in Hindi and would gradually extend such efforts to other regional languages.
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“We are slowly introducing certain things. Have you gone now to the latest website?… We are now giving a brief description of all the important judgments of the Supreme Court in Hindi..We will start with other regional languages also. We have to maintain pan-India culture; we will respect other regional languages also,” the CJI said.
The Bench further observed that such language reforms could not be brought about through judicial directions and indicated that the relief sought by the petitioner would effectively require a constitutional or legislative intervention.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi also observed that decisions of this nature concerning language policy should be taken through the appropriate democratic and legislative processes rather than being imposed through judicial orders.
The Court ultimately dismissed the PIL, while noting that the Supreme Court was already undertaking language-related reforms in a gradual and phased manner on the administrative side.