Report No. 58

Importance of one language

9.7. Another ground which was suggested in favour of, this idea was that if Zonal Courts are established, they would naturally function in English until Hindi becomes rich and ripe enough to take the place of English and it receives acceptance from all the States of the country, including particularly the non-Hindi speaking States. The argument is that in the interest of judicial administration, it is important that the High Courts and the Supreme Court should function in the same language. For quite some time, this language has to be English and the advocates of the concept of Zonal Courts fear that under local pressures, it is not unlikely that High Courts may begin to function in the language of the State and if that happens, it will have adverse effects on the efficiency of judicial administration and impair the utility of judicial process as an important instrument for sustaining the unity of the country.

If the High Courts begin to function in regional languages, the language of the Supreme Court may pose a serious question which may be over-loaded with political considerations; and such a possibility can be avoided if Zonal Courts are established because that would guarantee the continuance of English for such time until, as we have already mentioned, Hindi takes the place of English with the concurrence of all the States. It is on such considerations that the Commission was requested to consider the concept of Zonal Courts.