MUMBAI, MAY 22: The State Law and Judiciary Department could not care less for the cause of Marathi. Or else a detailed proposal for its induction as a legal language wouldn't be lying untouched for the last six months.

The Directorate of Languages had despatched a comprehensive planner to the department regarding steps to be taken by the reconstituted translation committee. The committee, headed by retired Chief Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari, was set up to work out ways to introduce Marathi in courts, especially, to start with, the district courts. Unfortunately, none of its recommendations have been seriously followed.

The first recommendation was to enlist members of the Bar Council, judges, university law faculty, legal aid centres, lok nyayalayas and the state legislature in the effort. The aim was to seek the expertise of those who could help fashion a legal language in Marathi.

Three sub-committees were also recommended to specifically look into Central acts, state acts and law reports.

It has been suggested that the committee should meet once a month, instead of two months, so that the work rate is doubled.

Those translated bills which are approved by the committee should be immediately published in the government gazette, it has been recommended.

``Normally it takes a long time, sometimes up to five years, for publication of transactions of Central government bills. Therefore, private publishing houses should be given the job. In any case, the Central government pays for such publication work,'' says one of the suggestions. Further, it has been proposed, the government should advertise for qualified translators and ``pay them as per the Central government rates.''

The committee should also take charge of the Marathi-medium texts of law courses in the university. It is proposed that the committee's directives should be made binding on law colleges. In order to see if Marathi is being used in the courts, an inspection panel of the court should visit different courts. The committee should select some important judgments of the High Court and translate the orders as samples.

Apart from translation, the recommendations say, the committee must also provide training for direct framing of laws in Marathi. Like their English counterparts, writers must be trained in Marathi legal terminology. Besides these recommendations to the Law Department, the Finance Department has also been requested for provisions for the infrastructure for use of Marathi as a legal language.

But the Department did not accept the monetary provisions proposed by the Directorate of Languages. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Bombay High Court has constituted a committee to devise a scheme for the induction of Marathi in taluka courts.

Three judges -- Justice Kamat (Mumbai), Justice Deshmukh (Aurangabad bench) and Justice Ghodeswar (Nagpur bench) -- are its members. So far, only one judge of the City Civil Court, Mumbai, Justice Ghare, has delivered a judgment in Marathi.

It is recommended that those judges who take this initiative should be given increments. All these recommendations, however, remain bogged in intent, yet to be implemented.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.