The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging the Hindi names given to three newly enforced criminal laws [PV Jeevesh v Union of India & Ors]..The Division Bench of acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu rejected the PIL filed by an advocate in this regard..The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act respectively, and came into operation on July 1. .The PIL was filed by advocate PV Jeevesh who argued that naming of the laws in Hindi violated Article 348 of the Constitution of India, which mandates that all authoritative texts of laws must be in English.It was also contended that Hindi names would create confusion and difficulty for lawyers and citizens in non-Hindi speaking regions, thereby infringing their fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession.He had also argued that naming of the laws in Hindi amounts to linguistic imperialism such imposition infringes upon the linguistic diversity of the country. .However, the Centre had countered that the enactments are written in English, including the script and contents, and cited examples of other laws with Hindi names, such as the Lokpal Bill, the Prasar Bharati Act etc.The Court last month had deliberated on whether it possesses the authority to direct the parliament to rename these laws in English. It had also acknowledged the confusion caused by the names. Nevertheless, it chose to dismiss the petition. .[Read Judgement]
The Kerala High Court on Monday dismissed the public interest litigation (PIL) petition challenging the Hindi names given to three newly enforced criminal laws [PV Jeevesh v Union of India & Ors]..The Division Bench of acting Chief Justice A Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S Manu rejected the PIL filed by an advocate in this regard..The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act respectively, and came into operation on July 1. .The PIL was filed by advocate PV Jeevesh who argued that naming of the laws in Hindi violated Article 348 of the Constitution of India, which mandates that all authoritative texts of laws must be in English.It was also contended that Hindi names would create confusion and difficulty for lawyers and citizens in non-Hindi speaking regions, thereby infringing their fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to practice any profession.He had also argued that naming of the laws in Hindi amounts to linguistic imperialism such imposition infringes upon the linguistic diversity of the country. .However, the Centre had countered that the enactments are written in English, including the script and contents, and cited examples of other laws with Hindi names, such as the Lokpal Bill, the Prasar Bharati Act etc.The Court last month had deliberated on whether it possesses the authority to direct the parliament to rename these laws in English. It had also acknowledged the confusion caused by the names. Nevertheless, it chose to dismiss the petition. .[Read Judgement]
