PM bats for Local Languages in Courts

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a strong pitch for use of local languages in Courts and explaining laws in simpler terms, saying that it will increase the confidence of common citizens in the justice system and they will feel more connected. Addressing the inaugural session of the joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices of High Courts, being held after a gap of six years, Modi said he had constituted a group to examine the possibility of whether laws can be drafted in legal language as well as in terms easily understood by common man. “I have set up a group that is examining whether both versions can be passed by the assembly or parliament,” Modi said. He said it is in practice in various countries and both the formats are considered legally acceptable. “Even our scriptures said that justice is the basis of good governance. It is for this reason that justice should be linked to the people, it should be in the language. Unless the common man understands the basis of justice, for him there will be no difference between justice and executive order,” he said. He also appealed to chief ministers and chief justices of High Court to give priority to cases related to under trial prisoners languishing in jails and released them, as per law, based on human sensitivities and asserted that judicial reform is not merely a policy matter. The prime minister also appealed to the chief ministers to repeal outdated laws to make the delivery of justice easier. “In 2015, we identified about 1800 laws that have become irrelevant. Out of these 1450, such laws of the Centre were abolished. But only 75 such laws have been abolished by the states,” he said.