Hyderabad: A milestone was created by Telangana High Court which delivered its first judgment in Telugu. A bench comprising Senior Justice P. Naveen Rao and Justice Nagesh Bhimapaka recently issued a 44-page judgment in Telugu on the appeal filed by a family regarding the share in a mother's property.
All proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Courts are normally conducted in English. When petitions are filed, supporting documents and evidence should be translated into English and submitted to the court registry even if they are in the local language. Given the increasing importance of local languages, the courts have also started taking steps toward the mother tongue. The key judgments of the Supreme Court are being translated into local languages. In this context, the High Courts are also showing interest in issuing judgments in the local language. Telangana High Court became the second court to pass verdict in local language after the Kerala High Court did the same earlier. In February this year, the Kerala High Court issued a verdict in Malayalam
Except for one or two lower courts in both states, incidents of judgments being delivered in Telugu are rare. A bench comprising Justice P. Naveen Rao and Justice Nagesh Bhimapaka ushered in a new chapter by delivering the judgment in Telugu. At the end of the verdict, the bench said that it was published in Telugu for the convenience of the parties and the public. A 41-page English judgment was also issued for official proceedings. It has been clarified that if there are any doubts in Telugu, the judgment in English should be taken into account to clear them.
The bench also translated into Telugu the Supreme Court judgments presented by the advocates of both sides to prove their case. The dispute between Veera Reddy's sons K. Chandra Reddy and Mutyam Reddy of Secunderabad over the transfer of land belonging to their mother has reached the court. The dispute related to 4.08 acres of land belonging to mother Salamma after her death. When Chandra Reddy approached the court claiming that the property belongs to her, the civil court said that there are doubts about the will written by the mother. That will is said to be invalid. Moreover, it concluded that the mother's property will be shared equally between both of them
Chandra Reddy and her heirs appealed to the high court against the judgment of the lower court. After the death of Mutyam Reddy, the heirs continued the case. After hearing the arguments of both sides, the bench consisting of Justice P. Naveen Rao and Justice Nagesh Bhimapaka gave its verdict and said that the lower court not only expressed doubts about the will but also stated clear reasons for it.
