Court Orders In Haryana To Be In Hindi Too, Governor Approves Amendment In Haryana Official Language Act

The approval of the Governor followed cabinet's resolution passing the Haryana Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2020. As per Section 1(2) of the Amendment Act, a new provision, namely Section 3-A has been inserted in the Haryana Official Language Act, 1969.

Section 3-A, headed, 'Use of Hindi in Courts and Tribunals' provides that:

"In all Civil Courts and Criminal Courts in Haryana subordinate to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, all Revenue Courts and Rent Tribunals or any other court or tribunal constituted by the State Government, work shall be done in the Hindi language."

Sub-section (2) of the newly inserted provision further states that:

"The State Government shall provide the requisite infrastructure and training of staff within six months of the commencement of the Haryana Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2020."

As per the Department of Information, Public Relations and Languages, Government of Haryana, the decision has been taken keeping in mind the convenience of the public and to ensure the objective of justice in a democracy, that is, that the litigant should get speedy justice in his own language and that a litigant should not remain speechless during the proceedings.

The newly amended Act shall be applicable from April 1, 2023.

Notably, a similar provision was brought in Punjab in 1969, when the Punjab Official Language Act, 1967 was amended by Punjab Act No. 11 of 1969, which added sections 3A and 3B, stipulating that work in all civil courts and criminal courts subordinate to the Punjab and Haryana High Court and all revenue courts and tribunals will be done in Punjabi.