Allahabad High Court says UP trial courts must not mix Hindi and English in judgments.
The directive was issued while dismissing an appeal in a dowry death case.
The ruling will be circulated statewide after being placed before the chief justice.
The Allahabad High Court has held that trial courts in Uttar Pradesh may issue judgments in either Hindi or English, but cannot combine both languages in a single order. The ruling came as the court dismissed a criminal appeal challenging the acquittal of a husband in a dowry death case.
According to PTI, the bench of Justice Rajeev Misra and Justice Ajay Kumar delivered the direction while rejecting the appeal filed by Vaid Prakash Tyagi, the informant in the case. The judges observed that Uttar Pradesh is a Hindi-speaking state and that issuing judgments entirely in Hindi enables litigants to understand the court’s reasoning, whether a claim is accepted or rejected.
The High Court remarked that a sessions court judgment from Agra, which was partly in English and partly in Hindi, was a “classic example” of what should not be done. PTI reported that the bench said the purpose of writing judgments in Hindi is defeated if courts mix languages, as ordinary litigants must be able to follow both the decision and the rationale.
The bench further directed that its judgment, delivered on 29 October, be placed before the chief justice for appropriate action. It also ordered that the decision be circulated to all judicial officers across the state with the “hope and trust” that future judgments will be written fully in either Hindi or English.
(With inputs from PTI)
