This is an archive article published on January 24, 2024
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Don’t know Hindi, will continue calling criminal laws by original names: Madras High Court judge
Despite the presidential assent to these changes, expected to take effect this year, the transition has sparked debates on linguistic accessibility and inclusivity in India's legal framework.
During the hearing on Tuesday, on a legal question pertaining to the limitation period under Section 468 of the CrPC, Justice Venkatesh sought assistance from the Madras Bar Association (MBA). (File Photo)
Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court has said he will continue using the original English names of key criminal laws even after they are replaced with Hindi titles “because I don’t know that language”.
Justice Venkatesh was talking specifically about referring to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act by their long-standing English names. This comes against the backdrop of a recent decision by the Parliament to rename these laws in Hindi: The IPC to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the CrPC to Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and the Indian Evidence Act to Bharatiya Sakshya, 2023.
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Despite the presidential assent to these changes, expected to take effect this year, the transition has sparked debates on linguistic accessibility and inclusivity in India’s legal framework.
During the hearing on Tuesday, on a legal question pertaining to the limitation period under Section 468 of the CrPC, Justice Venkatesh sought assistance from the Madras Bar Association (MBA). MBA secretary S Thiruvengadam, advocate Mohamed Riyaz, and Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) A Damodaran, among others, supported the court by referencing Supreme Court judgments and amendments to the CrPC.
At one point, when the APP attempted to mention a related provision in the newly named Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, he was seen struggling to pronounce the Hindi terms. Eventually, he started referring to it as the “new Act”.
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Justice Venkatesh, in a lighter vein, asked APP Damodaran to name the new Act as he would struggle again to pronounce it. He remarked that the APP referring to the act as a “new act” was nothing but a clever move as he couldn’t pronounce it, triggering laughter in the courtroom.
Justice Venkatesh acknowledged the linguistic challenge in these names, and told the lawyers that he would continue to refer to the three basic criminal laws by their original English names “because I don’t know that language”.
During the hearing on Tuesday, on a legal question pertaining to the limitation period under Section 468 of the CrPC, Justice Venkatesh sought assistance from the Madras Bar Association (MBA). (File Photo) 
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