Blitz Bureau
THE Supreme Court has said that judicial officers have to know the local language where they are appointed and working.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud as well as Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted that judicial officers have to deal with witnesses and evidence in local languages and hence knowledge of local language is essential.
“Requirement of a judicial officer to be adept in local language wherein appointed is a valid requirement. Judicial officers once appointed have to deal with witnesses and evidence in the said local language. Thus, such a requirement is justified and any change needed is in the policy domain,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench.
The top court was hearing a petition challenging the condition, that a person seeking appointment as a judicial officer must be adept in the local language, imposed by the Public Service Commissions of the States of Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Odisha. The court dismissed the petition and opined that the requirement imposed by the Public Service Commissions of the States of Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Odisha that a person seeking appointment as a judicial officer must be adept in the local language is ‘valid’.
