The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought directions to the Central government to form a commission for examining the use of Hindi as the official language of the apex court. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, observed that language-related changes in the judiciary are administrative matters and cannot be enforced through judicial orders. The petitioner had argued that a commission should be established under constitutional provisions to recommend greater use of Hindi in Supreme Court proceedings.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice stated that the Supreme Court has already begun implementing language reforms in a gradual and phased manner. He pointed out that the court now provides brief summaries of its judgments in Hindi and plans to extend this initiative to other regional languages in the future. Stressing the importance of India’s linguistic diversity, the bench said the judiciary is committed to respecting all regional languages while ensuring that any reforms are introduced carefully and systematically.
The bench further noted that the relief sought in the petition would effectively require changes to the constitutional framework governing the language used in the Supreme Court. Even after the petitioner’s counsel requested at least a direction to constitute a commission, the court declined, stating that such policy decisions cannot be mandated through court orders. Concluding that the issue falls within the domain of legislative and administrative reforms rather than judicial intervention, the Supreme Court dismissed the PIL.
