Allahabad High Court amends rules to allow procuring Hindi translations of Judgments, Orders

The Allahabad High Court has introduced an amendment to its rules so that interested persons may obtain Hindi translations of the Judgements and orders passed by the Court. .To this end, the Allahabad High Court Hindi Translation of Judgments/Orders (Procedure) Rules has been introduced by way of a 2020 amendment Act which was notified earlier this month. .Any person who is a party to a case can apply for the Hindi translation of the judgment or order as per Section 3 of the Rules. Further, persons not party to the case can also obtain the Hindi translation if permitted by the Chief Justice of the High Court. .The procedure for obtaining a translated copy of the judgment or order has been laid down in Rule 4, which lays out the following steps:The application for a Hindi translated copy of the judgment/order should be made by the applicant in proforma A, which is appended to the Rules.The fee or cost of the translated copy would be Rs. 2/- per page or as revised from time-to-time by the Court.After submission of application for a translated copy by the applicant personally or through counsel, information shall be provided by the Court to him/her regarding the amount of fee/cost which he/she is required to deposit as fee/expenses for the translated copy. The Registry will update the applicant on this aspect via e-mail/text message within three working days. The applicant will also be informed about the Bank account in which said amount is to be deposited.The applicant should deposit the fee/expenses as communicated within one week from the date of such information being conveyed.The payment of fee/expenses shall be made through deposit (Cash/Demand Draft) in the bank account or by e-transfer. Such amount is non-refundable and non-adjustable towards subsequent application moved by applicant.Any person seeking translated copies through e-mail shall be provided the same on his/her e-mail address.After deposit of fee/expenses, the applicant shall furnish transaction details of such deposit to the Section concerned of the Court through e- mail on e-mail address generated by Court for this purpose and which is mentioned in the prescribed proforma A.A separate account shall be opened (by the Court authorities) for the deposit of fee/expenses. Such account shall be operated by such officer or officers as authorised by Chief Justice, from time-to-time.The fee/expenses collected may be utilized for meeting expenses of translation or for such purpose(s) as the Chief Justice may deem fit.The top of the first page of the translated copy of the judgment/order must state that the copy is "Only for Personal use and not to be used or cited before any Authority or Court of Law."After preparation of the translated copy of the judgment/order, the information shall be sent to the applicant through e-mail/text message on his/her mobile number, mentioned in the application, informing him/her to collect the translated copy within two weeks from the date of such communication.If the applicant does not collect translated copy within six months from the date of such communication, the same shall be weeded out.Where a person confined in jail seeks to obtain translated copies, he may apply through the Superintendent of the concerned Jail and translated copies shall be transmitted to him by post through the Superintendent, Jail, free of cost..The Rules further lays down the timelines for providing the translated copy of the judgment or order as follows:Translated copies of judgments/orders running up to fifty pages shall be prepared within fifteen working days from the deposition of the prescribed fee/expenseWhere the judgment/order consists of more than fifty pages, translated copies shall be prepared within thirty working days. If Judgment/Order is so voluminous that the translation is not possible within thirty days, the concerned Supervising Authority/Officer shall seek an extension of time from the competent officer or officers as authorized by the Chief Justice..Read the Rules: