The Supreme Court of India has recently dismissed a plea that sought to introduce Gujarati as an additional language for court proceedings in Gujarat. This decision aligns with the Gujarat High Court’s earlier judgment, which had labeled the petition as “wholly misconceived.”
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The bench, consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti, declined to intervene in the matter, thereby upholding the Gujarat High Court’s stance. The High Court had previously scrutinized the petition, which was essentially a challenge to a decision made by the Supreme Court’s full court in December 2012. This decision had denied the request to use Gujarati as an additional language in the courts.
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The petition aimed to compel the State government to act on the authorization given by the Governor of the State, which would have allowed Gujarati to be used alongside English in legal proceedings. However, the High Court, during a hearing in November 2022, had pointed out that permitting Gujarati as a court language could have significant and widespread implications.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of this plea is a significant affirmation of the existing language policy within Gujarat’s judicial system. English remains the primary language for conducting court proceedings. The court’s decision takes into account the potential complexities and far-reaching consequences of integrating a regional language into the judicial process. This includes considerations regarding the uniformity and efficiency of legal proceedings, as well as the broader impact on the judicial system as a whole.
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