Draft agreements in Hindi when needed as it is spoken by most: HC to Delhi mediation centres

The Delhi High Court has asked mediation centres in Delhi to draft agreements in Hindi whenever necessary as it is the language spoken by most people in the Capital.

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

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in the order passed on May 16, noted that a majority of parties do not understand English.

Announced in a matter pertaining to a matrimonial dispute, the order also directed for a series of guidelines to be followed by mediators in drafting a settlement agreement.

However, in cases where the parties are well-versed in English and want the agreement drafted only in English, there will be no such insistence or requirement translated it, the court observed.

According to the order, “This Court also remains conscious of the fact that the 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 High Court further said that as per directions of the Central government, a Hindi department has been constituted in every court and a Hindi committee is constituted in every court complex. The project of translation of the judgments from English to Hindi is already successfully working under the guidance of the Supreme Court, it added.