A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking to declare the Hindi names of the new criminal laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023, and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023—as unconstitutional. The plea, submitted by Lawyer Ramkumar Adityan, argues that these names violate the Constitution, the Official Language Act of 1963, and the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act of 1956.
Adityan’s petition calls for the Cabinet Secretariat, the Home Secretary, and the Law Secretary to take appropriate steps to provide English nomenclature for these new laws. He contends that the Union Government’s decision to assign Hindi and Sanskrit names to the new criminal laws is problematic, considering that only 9 states and 2 union territories out of the 28 states and 8 union territories in India have Hindi as their official language. Moreover, Hindi is not the mother tongue of 56.37% of Indians, yet the new laws have been named in Hindi and Sanskrit.
The petitioner argues that this decision creates confusion, ambiguity, and difficulty for law students, law teachers, advocates, law officers, judicial officers, and the general public who are not familiar with Hindi and Sanskrit. He asserts that this violates the fundamental right of non-Hindi-speaking people to practice their professions without undue hindrance.
Adityan further argues that Article 348(1)(a) of the Constitution mandates that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and the High Courts be conducted in English. He highlights that the legislative intent behind Article 348 was to ensure uniformity and accessibility, as English is widely spoken and understood across India, transcending regional and linguistic barriers.
Using English in court, he says, ensures effective communication among litigants and legal professionals from different parts of the country. Additionally, it facilitates access to legal knowledge, as most legal precedents and literature are in English, and reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation or misunderstanding.
Adityan also notes that according to Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act of 1956, Tamil and English are the official languages in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the new Hindi names violate the state’s language laws.
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