Legal education to be taught in 12 Indian languages in over 1,000 colleges by next year

Express News Service

NEW DELHI:  A national committee for developing regional languages in legal education has been constituted by the Bar Council of India (BCI), which will discuss teaching law in 12 Indian languages in over 1,000 colleges. The committee, chaired by Justice S A Bobde, retired Chief Justice of India, plans to roll out textbooks for law students in regional languages by the 2023-24 academic session.

Manan Kumar Mishra, chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), said the committee would ensure publication of good legal textbooks in regional languages so that law institutions would not have any difficulty in imparting legal education in local languages.

BCI rules already allow legal education in local languages, said Mishra, the working president of the panel. Chamu Krishna Shastry, Chairman, Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, under the Union education ministry, said it is a historic step that will go a long way in shaping a legal education system rooted in Indian ethos as envisaged in the National Education Policy.

He said there is not much study material in local languages for law students at present. “The need is to produce quality legal textbooks. There are some legal books in Hindi and Tamil, but not in other local languages,” Shastry, who is one of the members of the committee, told this newspaper. He said the focus this year is on producing good quality content and textbooks in local languages.

Law colleges will then be requested to start using them from 2023-24. Other members on the panel include Justice L Narasimha Reddy; Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, chairman, UGC; Prof Ishwara Bhat, former Vice-Chancellor, National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Kolkata and Karnataka Law University; Dr S Vaidhyasubramaniam, Vice-Chancellor, Sastra University, Tamil Nadu; and Dr Gopakumar Sharma, Joint Secretary, UGC.

While local languages are used in the lower judiciary, in high courts and Supreme Court, the language is mainly English. “There will be pressure on courts to translate judgments in local languages. About 90% of people are denied justice because they don’t understand laws or comprehend judgments that impact their lives,” Shastry added.