Kerala High Court Dismisses Petition Challenging Hindi Titles To New Criminal Laws

The judgment was delivered by Acting Chief Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice S. Manu.

Adv. Jeevesh had filed this petition alleging that Hindi titles to these Acts can cause confusion, ambiguity and difficulty for the legal community of non-Hindi/ non – Sanskrit speakers and thus infringes their fundamental right to occupation guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution He had also submitted that Article 348(1)(b) of the Constitution mandates that the authoritative text of all Acts shall be in English language.

The question whether title of the Act comes under 'authoritative text' was a point argued before the Court. The Counsel for the Union of India had also submitted that the title is written in English letters only.

Detailed judgment is awaited.

Case Title: P. V. Jeevesh v Union of India and Others

Case No: WP(C) 19240/ 2024