Delhi HC asks mediation centres to prepare matrimonial settlements in Hindi

The Delhi High Court has directed the mediation centres in the national capital to ensure that the settlement agreements are prepared in Hindi as far as possible, in addition to English.

The Delhi High Court has directed the mediation centres in the national capital to ensure that the settlement agreements are prepared in Hindi as far as possible, in addition to English. “Hindi is the mother tongue of most,” the court observed.

The Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while passing the order, maintained that majority of parties do not understand English.

“This court also remains conscious of the fact that majority of litigants who approach this court and the courts below speak Hindi as their first language. Given that Hindi is their mother tongue, they are far more adept at speaking and understanding it than they are at other languages such as English. However, the mediated settlement agreements in Delhi are drafted only in English. In such a scenario, the settlement agreement and the conditions thereof, may not always be adequately clear to the parties and at times, the translation from English to Hindi may not convey exactly what the parties intend to do,” the court order read.

It further said that as per directions of the Central government, a Hindi Department has been constituted in every court and a Hindi Committee is also constituted in every court complex.

“This court hopes that once the agreements are written in Hindi, it will ensure not only finality of agreements in the mediation centres but also its successful culmination in the courts of law which is the aim and objective of mediation centres,” it added.

In a matter pertaining to a matrimonial dispute, the court also passed a series of guidelines to be followed by the mediators in drafting a settlement agreement. It said that the names of the parties must be specified in matrimonial agreements and the agreement must avoid ambiguous terms like ‘respondents’ or ‘petitioners’ and include the terms and conditions of the agreement reached between the parties, howsoever, minute and small they may be.