ગુજરાતી
English
Struggling to argue in Gujarati language in court
2022
Amrutlal Parmar, a senior citizen of Rajkot, has been fighting a legal battle in the Gujarat High Court for five years for appearing in the Gujarati language. The rule has changed in the Gujarat High Court since 2016. After 2016 it is necessary to be able to speak and understand the English language. Prior to 2016, the English language was not required if a person wanted to sue themselves. At that time Parmar had argued in 25 cases in Gujarati language.
The Gujarat Legislative Assembly has passed a law for conducting business in Gujarat only in the Gujarati language. The second language is Hindi. no English
Arguments in the High and Supreme Courts of India can only be in English
After filing a petition in the Gujarat High Court, instead of hiring a lawyer, he himself wanted to fight the case personally as a party.
A one-judge and two-judge bench of the Gujarat High Court had earlier dismissed Amrutlal Parmar’s plea to allow the petition to be filed in Gujarati. The Bench of the Chief Justice of the High Court has reserved the decision.
Amritlal Parmar, who studied till 10th class, does finance business in Rajkot. Instead of hiring a lawyer, he wanted to personally fight the case as a party. He himself wanted to give oral arguments of his case in Gujarati language.
However, the registrar of the Gujarat High Court objected to the demand of Amrutlal Parmar. He was denied the necessary qualification certificate to personally contest the case as a party.
This certificate is mandatory for the plaintiff who does not want to take the services of a lawyer in his case and wants to fight the case himself.
The Gujarat High Court Registry rejected Amritlal Parmar’s demand for certificate on the ground that he had no knowledge of the English language. As per the rules of the Gujarat High Court, submissions can be made in the English language.
Amritlal Parmar had challenged the August 2017 decision of the Registry rejecting the demand for the certificate. The legal battle for giving arguments in Gujarati language was over.
Amrilal Parmar claims that there is no legal provision preventing him from appearing in Gujarati language.
His petition was rejected in December 2017. Thereafter, Amritlal Parmar appealed in a two-judge bench which was dismissed in 2018.
Last week, Amrutlal Parmar moved a motion to fix the date of hearing of the matter before appearing before the Chief Justice’s bench. The Gujarat High Court has reserved the verdict in this matter.
The Gujarat High Court has its own rules regarding the functioning of the court. You can make a written presentation in Gujarati as per Rule No 37 of Gujarat High Court.
The translation will be done by the translator in the court. According to Article 348 of the Constitution of India, the language of the High and Supreme Courts shall be English, but if a proclamation is issued by the Governor, Gujarati may be used as a second recognized language.
No such notification is issued by the Governor of Gujarat State. This issue has already been settled. This decision has been given by two judges of Gujarat High Court.
Gujarat High Court follows the Indian Constitution and rules, so you can give written arguments in Gujarati but cannot give oral arguments in Gujarati.
In order to give an oral argument as per Rule 31(a) of the Gujarat High Court, you are asked about your English comprehension and ability to speak. If you cannot speak and understand the English language, you will not receive a certificate.
Nyaya is not Gujarati so he doesn’t understand Gujarati much. The judge asked Amritlal Parmar to argue in Hindi. Amritlal Parmar accepted to debate in Hindi and argued in Hindi.
A decision has been taken on this issue. Therefore, the court has reserved the order. The court also asked Amrutlal Parmar to take the help of legal aid but Amrutlal Parmar refused to take help. Amrutlalan has many cases, it is not just one case, so he should not seek legal help. For the last 20 years, he has been fighting the case on his own in every court. There are 25 cases. (Google translated from Gujarati department of this website)
