Will simplify usage: HC pushes for abbreviations of new criminal laws
The bench held that there is nothing wrong if in FIRs, petitions and orders, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, are referred to as BNSS, BNS and BSA, respectively.
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The observation was made by the bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara while hearing the anticipatory bail plea of a woman, Manpreet Kaur, an accused in the alleged guava orchard scam. (File Photo)Adopting abbreviations for the new criminal laws will not only simplify the usage of lengthy Hindi terminology in legal space but will also promote inclusivity, facilitating a more accessible and efficient judicial process, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled.
The bench held that there is nothing wrong if in FIRs, petitions and orders, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, are referred to as BNSS, BNS and BSA, respectively.
The observation was made by the bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara while hearing the anticipatory bail plea of a woman, Manpreet Kaur, an accused in the alleged guava orchard scam.
Justice Chitkara asserted that “India is a union of multi-linguistic states where, as per the data collected from the Census of 2011, a total of 121 languages and 270 mother tongues are spoken and the Hindi speakers constitute 43.63 percent… The hard-to-pronounce titles cause lingual impediment, cognitive chaos, and tedium that can prevent the legal system from operating smoothly. We, the people of India, respect the mutual co-existence of Hindi and non-Hindi speakers and acknowledge the inevitable discomfort for the latter to pronounce difficult Hindi names.”
“Abbreviations are not artificially created linguistic units for language economy but they eliminate contradiction between modern consciousness and limited lexical resources of any language… They assist in making manuscripts easy to read and understand,” said the HC.
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