Use of regional languages key to making justice accessible to all, says Kiren Rijiju

The Union Minister for Law and Justice, in his convocation address at Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University on Friday, said the Centre has been taking various initiatives to increase the use of regional languages; he expressed concern over the pendency of cases in the country

Union Minister for Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, on Friday, emphasised the need for increasing the use of regional languages in Indian courts and the legal system at large, to ensure that the common people can access justice in their respective languages.

Delivering the convocation address at the 12th convocation of the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) in Chennai, the Minister said he was against imposing one language in India. “In Tamil Nadu, we all will be proud to see that Tamil takes centrestage in Madras High Court as well as the district and subordinate courts,” he said.

Stating that he has spoken to the Chief Justice of India, senior judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the Madras High Court on the need to prioritise local languages, he listed some of the initiatives of the Union government in this direction. Efforts have been made to collect legal glossaries in all regional languages and make them available in an accessible format to the common public. An online platform will be created to crowdsource and collect legal glossaries in regional languages and digitise them, he said.

With advances in technology, he said that instant translations during court proceedings could be made possible so that the plaintiffs and victims in a case can also understand [what is going on in court].

Highlighting that the Union government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is committed to ensuring all necessary infrastructure, he said that he will soon be conducting a review meeting with the Chief Justice of Madras High Court to discuss the availability of smart rooms, separate toilets for women and other such facilities in all the courts in the State.

Mr. Rijiju expressed concern over the pendency of cases in the country, which he said is touching five crores.

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi said the country is witnessing a resurgence under the present leadership. He appealed to the graduands to contribute towards taking India to its destined position of being the leader of the world by 2047. He said that lawyers have always played a great role towards society, apart from their profession, as seen even during the Independence struggle.