It was reported in March that the government was considering extending an option to introduce courses in regional languages to law colleges, a year after it allowed engineering colleges to do so.
Going ahead with its plan to introduce courses in regional languages in law college across the country, the University Grants Commission (UGC) started a dialogue with the Bar Council of India (BCI), with the latter also constituting a 12-member committee to come up with recommendations for the purpose, officials said on Monday.
HT had in March reported that the Centre was considering extending the option to introduce courses in regional languages to law colleges, a year after starting the same for engineering colleges. The move is in line with the national education policy (NEP) 2020 which advocates offering professional education in regional languages.
The decision to constitute a committee was taken during a meeting between officials from the UGC, BCI and members of the ministry of education’s high-powered committee for the promotion of Indian languages on Sunday.
In a statement issued on Monday, the BCI said that the committee will be chaired by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, and will also include working president of BCI Manan Kumar Mishra, UGC chairperson Jagadesh Kumar, Chamu Krishna Shastry, chairperson of the high-powered committee for the promotion of Indian languages, and others.
“The time has now come for taking basic legal education to the doors of people, which is to be done by BCI in cooperation with Schools, UGC, (Universities), and academicians. As per the NEP State institutions offering law education must consider offering bilingual education for future lawyers and judges – in English and in the language of the State in which the law programme is situated. This is to alleviate delay in legal outcomes consequent to need for translation. Bar Council of India has already decided to take all necessary steps for achieving this goal,” the BCI president Mishra said in the statement.
“Bar Council of India shall earmark at least three Continuing Legal Education (CLE’s) in every State to start teaching in local languages. Such Institution shall be encouraged in every respect,” he added.
UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said, “This committee will identify which all books have to be translated first. We are planning to translate them into 12 Indian languages to begin with. It will help lawyers to prepare documents in regional languages and also interact with their clients in their mother tongues. In local courts also, arguments take place only in the local languages.”
The 12 Indian languages in which the UGC is aiming to introduce legal courses are Hindi, Gujarati, Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Chamu Krishna Shastry said, “Textbook production for legal education in major 12 Indian languages will not only help the students to master the subject but also to transform the Legal education into sate language mediums along with English. It will eventually enable the lower courts to also use Indian languages – the languages of litigants and the common people who don’t understand English.”
Last year, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) granted permission to 19 technical colleges to offer select engineering courses in regional languages. Of these, 10 chose Hindi and the rest provided the option of Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
