Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Wednesday asked the Punjab Government to seek review of the latest order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court making it mandatory for the state’s lower courts to ensure the abstract of the case, depositions of witnesses and judgments in English language only.
“It would make the justice delivery system a cumbersome exercise for 90 percent of the population of Punjab,” said the former minister and SAD senior vice-president Daljit Singh Cheema.
In Punjab, more than 90 percent population speaks and understands only Punjabi language, and they could not be able to comprehend the testimonies and judgments provided in English language, he said.
“They would need a translator at every step and it would not only make them venerable to financial exploitation, they might be misguided about the depositions and judgments as well,” he added.
Urging the State Government to take appropriate action and file a review petition against the court order, Cheema said that this is the biggest responsibility of the State Government to provide a hassle-free justice delivery system to the people of the state.
“The State Government should file a review petition immediately and through its battery of legal hawk put this point before the court that the latest order of Punjab and Haryana High Court could make the process of seeking justice a very complicated affair for the people of the State,” he said.
Citing the Supreme Court’s latest decision of clearing decks for providing judgments in six regional languages, Cheema said that according to this decision, Punjabi language must be used in courts for convenience of the common folk.
“The latest court decision is polar opposite to the Punjab Reorganization Act which clearly proposes that the court works would be in Punjabi language in Punjabi-speaking area as well as in Hindi language at Hindi speaking area and it would be in Punjabi language at Chandigarh till it makes its own norms,” he said.