Hearings In Court Have To Be In The Language Understandable To Ordinary Litigant: President Ramnath Kovind

President of India Ramnath Kovind has suggested that the hearings in court, if possible, have to be in a language that is understandable to the ordinary litigant. He re-iterated that High Courts need to take up the task of quickly providing certified translated copies of judgments in local and regional languages. He was speaking on the occasion of inauguration of Constitution day Celebrations.Regarding the roles of three organs of the State, he said it is critical to keep the intricate and delicate balance in mind when exploring the relationship between the three branches of the state – that is, the judiciary, the legislature and the executive.“They are all equal. They should all be conscious of their liberty and strive to protect their autonomy. And yet, they should be careful not to disturb the fraternity of the separation of powers by even unknowingly intruding into the domain of either of the two other branches.Sobriety and discretion in communication between the three branches is also extremely advisable. This will promote and enhance fraternity between three equal branches of the state, all of which have a certain responsibility to the Constitution. It will also reassure the ordinary citizen that the Constitution is safe – and in mature hands. And that the three branches are fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the spirit of the Constituent Assembly”.Read the Full Text of Speech here I am happy to be here this morning on the occasion of Constitution Day, which marks the anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution on November 26, 1949. This is a moment to recall the men and women of the Constituent Assembly who completed the monumental task of drafting a Constitution for independent India. They produced a fine document, handwritten in 90,000 words, which continues to be our guiding light. A key role in this exercise was played by Babasaheb Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the chair of the Drafting Committee, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1990. In 2015, in honour of Dr Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary, the Government of India began to observe November 26 as Constitution Day. Since 1979, the Supreme Court has observed this day as National Law Day. From 2016, it decided to celebrate it with a Constitution Day Lecture to be delivered each year by an eminent jurist. The first such lecture was delivered by Mr Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah. Today, we had the opportunity to hear Mr Justice R. C. Lahoti, former Chief Justice of India. I am also glad to have received the first copies of two books – The Constitution at 67 and Indian Judiciary: Annual Report 2016-17. I compliment the Supreme Court for publishing them.Ladies and Gentlemen Perhaps the most remarkable feature about our Constitution is that its philosophy is everlasting – but its structure and clauses are flexible. Our Constitution framers were enlightened and far-sighted enough to give future generations the power to amend and change clauses as may be needed with the times. Our Constitution is not static but is a living document. The Constituent Assembly was conscious that the Constitution would need to be interwoven with new threads. In a dynamic world, this would be the best way to serve the people and the nation as a whole. As such, over the years, many amendments have been carried out to the Constitution by Parliament. The Constituent Assembly comprised men and women of unparalleled vision. They sought to draft a Constitution that was defined by a noble and expansive philosophy – rather than being a rigid document. The members of the Constituent Assembly ensured that there are checks and balances in the democratic system with appropriate roles for the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This allows them to function independently but with accountability. As for the citizens of our country, in whom sovereignty is ultimately vested, the Constituent Assembly was of the firm belief that they have a claim to Fundamental and Constitutional Rights. And yet they also have obligations towards the nation and society, including but not limited to Fundamental Duties. At the heart of the constitutional project was trust – trust in each other, trust between institutions, trust in the goodness of fellow citizens, and trust in the wisdom of future generations. This sense of trust is inherent in constitutional governance. When the Government trusts citizens to attest their documents themselves, it is in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution. When the Union government trusts state governments by devolving financial powers to them, and taking ahead the mission of cooperative federalism, then too we are working in the spirit of the Constitution. Our Constitution framers realised that a Constitution, no matter how well written and how detailed, would have little meaning without the right people to implement it and to live by its values. And in this, they placed their faith in generations that would follow. As Dr Ambedkar told the Assembly in...

Hearings In Court Have To Be In The Language Understandable To Ordinary Litigant: President Ramnath Kovind

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