Supreme Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Hearings in the Top Court to be in Hindi

Today (November 04, 2024, Monday), the Supreme Court (SC) of India dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking hearings in the top court to be in the Hindi language while challenging the validity of Article 348(1) of the Indian Constitution. It said, “The writ petition is lacking merit and is accordingly dismissed.” As per Article 348(1) of the Constitution, “Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides–

1. all proceedings in the Supreme Court an in every High Court,
2. the authoritative texts–
   1. of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State,
   2. of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State and of all Ordinances promulgated by the President or the Governor of a State, and
   3. of all orders, rules, regulations, and bye-laws issued under this Constitution or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State,

shall be in the English language.” The matter was heard by a three-judge bench of the SC constituting Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra. During the proceedings, CJI asked the petitioner, “Why only Hindi? We have appeals and SLPs which come to this court from all states. Should we now be hearing parties in every language recognized by the Constitution? How does this work?” He added, “How can you challenge the validity of Article 348(1) of the Constitution? it's part of the original Constitution.” The petitioner argued that the linguistic barrier in the SC led to late access to justice and sometimes denial of justice. After hearing the contentions, the SC bench declined to entertain the PIL.