Maharashtra government sanctions over ₹6 lakh for translation of Supreme Court, Bombay High Court judgments into Marathi

The Maharashtra government this month sanctioned over ₹6 lakh for the purchase of software for translation of Supreme Court and Bombay High Court judgments from English to Marathi.

A resolution passed by the Maharashtra government on August 1 revealed that a spend of ₹6,47,320 has been cleared for purchasing Microsoft family software and Google Translator.

The High Court took the initiative to translate English judgments into Marathi in March 2023. The Artificial Intelligence Assistant Legal Translation Committee requested the State government to provide the necessary software for the same.

The State government also issued a resolution today that approved the creation of 300 posts for junior translators and interpreters at the High Court appellate branch.

The resolution clarified that the translators could be hired through an external mechanism from a pool of retired judicial officers, advocates recommended by the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and universities, including law students, teachers and experts.

The translators will be entitled to a payment of ₹100 per page, the resolution stated.

The government also specified that it shall not bear any responsibility for the concerned employees hired through the external mechanism.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin had Monday announced the TN government will allocate ₹3 crore to the State Official Language (Legislative) Commission for translating the judgments of the Madras High Court from English to Tamil.

[Read the government resolutions]