Do people who study in vernacular medium find it difficult to argue before the Supreme Court? The exchange between counsel and the Bench

"People who study in vernacular medium find it difficult to argue before the Supreme Court," Senior Counsel KV Viswanathan said on Tuesday before the Supreme Court.This submission, while made in an attempt to highlight the benefits of imparting education in English as a language of instruction, did not sit well with others present at the hearing..Viswanathan was arguing on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government, which had approached the Supreme Court against the judgment of the High Court staying the government order mandating for the medium of instruction in government schools to be in English..Terming the government's move as a progressive one, Viswanathan attempted to make a case for English medium schools, first by arguing that the choice of Telugu medium schools does not get revoked through this government order, and later, by citing the benefits of English medium schools..Viswanathan said that with the English language, there comes opening up of opportunities which may be limited or restricted if a child has studied in a vernacular language. The most formative years of a child require medium of instruction to be in English so that there are no "islands of exclusion" created, the Senior Advocate said.."At the risk of sounding autobiographical," Vishwanathan went on to narrate that he has friends who have studied in vernacular medium and cannot come to Supreme Court to argue.."They think in vernacular, translate it, and then utter, and by that time, the miscellaneous item in Supreme Court would be over."KV Viswanathan.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta expressed his reservations over this argument. Mehta said that Viswanathan may have been "pitching it too high to say that those who studied in vernacular medium cannot argue before the Supreme Court."."To say that those who have studied in vernacular medium are in 'islands of isolation' is a bit uncharitable."SG Tushar Mehta.Senior Counsel Gopal Sankarnarayanan also countered this argument to say that people have been elevated as Supreme Court judges even after having studied in the vernacular medium..CJI Bobde also countered Viswanathan, saying that this was an inappropriate argument to make.."You are giving an example which is completely inappropriate."CJI SA Bobde.CJI Bobde, who was on the Bench with Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said that the issue at hand was one that holds many divergent points of view, all of which need to be considered. The Bench added that no one point of view can be imposed..On Viswanathan's mildly controversial submission, CJI Bobde said that a picture cannot be painted that a child who studied in vernacular medium is ill-equipped to become a lawyer who is proficient enough to argue before a court..There is a long "learning period" between passing out from school and becoming a lawyer during which many things, including the English language, can be learnt, CJI Bobde observed..Though he agreed with this point, Viswanathan said that having a foundation in the English language was most crucial. However, CJI Bobde responded,"For that foundation, it is important that a child learns in their mother tongue.".Following the debate on language, the Court agreed to hear the matter next week..On April 15 this year, the Andhra Pradesh High Court set aside the state government's move to gradually convert the medium of instruction in government schools to English from this academic year onwards..In its appeal before the Supreme Court against this decision, the state government argued that this decision was a progressive and a forward-looking decision taken for the benefit of the students. It was also submitted that according to a survey, the majority of the parents were in favour of the government schools imparting education in the English language.."This is a progressive step", Andhra Pradesh backs its decision on English medium for government schools before Supreme Court