CJI calls for regional languages training in legal studies and courts

LUCKNOW: Batting for the need to teach law courses in regional languages and in simpler parlance, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, on Saturday, said it was imperative to use regional languages in legal proceedings to make the case understandable for general litigants. He said that the inability to explain the principles of law to the general public in simple terms was a shortcoming of the legal profession and legal education.

Addressing budding lawyers at the Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University (RMLNLU) as the chief guest on the occasion of the convocation, the CJI took off on a poetic note by reciting a couplet of famous Urdu poet Asrarul Haq Majaz to throw light on the future of law graduates saying: “Jo abra yahan se uthega, vo saare jahan par barsega, har ju-e-ravan par barsega har koh-e-garan par barsega (The cloud of elixir that will emerge from here will rain everywhere, it will rain on every flowing water and on all the mountains). “These lines innovatively portray the future of the graduating students here,” he said.

However, taking the discourse further on a serious note, the CJI said that he often discussed the ways to teach law in a simpler way with educationists. “If the fundamental and basic principles of law are not explained in simpler manner to general public then there is definitely some flaw in the legal profession and legal education,” he added.

“When I came to Allahabad (Prayagraj) after spending my professional life as a judge of the Bombay High Court, it was culturally different for me. The proceedings in the Bombay High Court were conducted in English, though the record, especially, in criminal cases, was maintained in Marathi. In Allahabad High Court I found lawyers starting their arguments in Hindi quite efficiently. It made me realize the potential of lawyers to present their case efficiently even in their local language… I did not mean that we should not include English in the curriculum of legal education, but to include local languages too along with English,” he said.

“In UP, I learnt what ‘taal’ and ‘talaiya’ means in local language. It was in UP, I saw lawyers have the potential to argue cases in Hindi with might,” said the CJI.

Discussing the handicaps of court proceedings taking place in English language, the CJI said judges and lawyers were well-versed in English, but the common man is not. “English can’t translate the affection of a mother for her child. At the other end of the spectrum, English can’t express the crime committed in a fit of rage between two farmers who are neighbours,” he maintained.

Exhorting the RMLNLU to consider an LLB course in Hindi, the CJI felt that laws related to regional issues should also be taught under law courses in universities. “If someone comes to the university’s legal aid centre from a nearby village with a land-related problem, and the student does not understand the land related terms like ‘khasra’ and ‘khatauni’, how will they be able to help the aggrieved party? Therefore, students should be educated about regional laws related to land.”

He mentioned to the gathering that a survey conducted in 81 universities and colleges by the research wing of the Supreme Court showed that the common man struggled to understand English while seeking help from legal aid centres. “As people don’t understand English language, they fail to comprehend the legal rights and schemes. I am not blaming anyone. Instead of restricting judgments in English, there is a need to bring them in regional languages as well,” said the CJI.

Sharing the experiences of his stint as chief justice of the Allahabad High Court, CJI Chandrachud told the students that working in UP for merely three years – from 2013 to 2016 – made him realise that it was the heart and soul of the country.

The CJI said that in the process of making legal process accessible, the Supreme Court had translated 37,500 important judgments from 1950 to 2024 in Hindi. “This is done to ensure that the common man, unable to understand English, gets the sense of the decisions,” he said.