New Delhi: A group of five advocates from UP, Haryana and Delhi have filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Haryana government's May 11 order which directed all the courts, including the tribunals in the state to use Hindi as the official language by amending Section 3 of the Haryana Official Language Act, 1969.
The petitioners, Sameer Jain, Sandeep Bajaj, Angad Sandhu, Subigya Awasthi and Anant Gupta, contended that using Hindi as the sole language for conducting hearings infringes upon their right to freely practice the legal profession and the right to earn a livelihood.
Calling Haryana as an industrial hub, the advocates argue that the state has various multinational companies and various sections of the non-Hindi speaking society reside there for whom talking fluently in Hindi is not possible.
"The Amendment stating that imposing Hindi is for people of the state and necessary to get justice is wholly irrational," reads the plea.
Advocates also contend that the notification is in violation of their fundamental rights, the right to equality, the right to practice a profession of choice, right to live with dignity and earn a livelihood.
Further, they say that the notification was issued in the 'misconception' that everyone practising law in Haryana is fluent in Hindi but that is far from the reality. English is widely used in India in the subordinate courts and not using it in the courts can have far-reaching consequences for the people living in the state, contend the advocates.
"The level of fluency and expertise needed to argue and represent a matter in Hindi is much more than a simple understanding of the language," read the petition.
The legislative assembly of Haryana had passed a bill to use Hindi in all the subordinate courts of the state and on 11th May, issued a notification regarding the Haryana Official Language(Amendment) Act,2020.
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