Delhi HC allows lawyer to argue in Hindi

The Delhi High Court for the first time allowed a lawyer to bypass the official English language and argue in Hindi as he was more competent in his mother tongue. Allowing lawyer Das Goninder Singh to argue in his mother tongue Hindi, Justice Rekha Sharma for the first time responded to his arguments and put the questions to him in the same language.

Singh in his written submissions to the court, though in English, said he has had Hindi as the medium of his education throughout his educational career. He will be able to express himself more effectively about the facts of law if he is allowed to argue his case in Hindi, he stated. When asked why he did not write the application in Hindi itself, Singh replied that if I would have done so, my application would have been rejected at the outset at the filing counter itself. This is just the beginning he said. There is already a petition pending in court to allow Hindi to be used as official language in the court.

Some other High Courts like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan have recognised Hindi as official language of the courts, but Delhi is still lagging behind, he said. So much so that many Hindi newspapers are not on the subscription list of the Delhi Courts, Singh said.

Since many lawyers are not well versed in English they have to seek the help of English speaking lawyers, the cost of which has to be borne by the litigants, making litigation very expensive, Singh said. ‘I am sure allowing Hindi to be used as official language in High Courts will reduce the cost of litigation too as many Hindi speaking lawyers who till now are reluctant to appear in the courts will get a chance to practise,’ he added.