Now, laws and rules in Kannada

Kanaja.in has put out official translations of 239 Acts and rules

September 26, 2017 11:29 am | Updated 11:29 am IST -

Screen shot of Kanaja.in/acts

Screen shot of Kanaja.in/acts

The language barrier can often leave people struggling to understand the letter of the law, but that will no longer be the case in Karnataka.

In a move that underscores the State government’s goal to prioritise Kannada in the public domain, for the first time ever, hundreds of Union laws and rules written in English have been translated into the official language of the State. The translation is not limited to only Union laws but also includes State Acts and rules, which are usually published in English. This initiative comes close on the heels of the demand for Kannada in Namma Metro signage and its implementation as an administrative language.

Kanaja.in, an online Kannada encyclopedia, has put out official translations of 239 Acts and rules: 118 Union and 121 State laws and rules. These include the Hindu Marriage Act and Rules, Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other Union laws, as well as the Cadre and Recruitment Rules, and Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, Karnataka Education Act among other State laws and rules.

Legal nuances

The challenge is to ensure that the legal nuances of the laws are not lost in translation. “The translations are official versions, and much thought and gate-keeping has gone into them,” said Vishu Kumar, Director, Kannada and Culture Department.

The laws and rules were translated by the Translation Directorate of the State, and were vetted by a panel of retired justices.

These were then approved by the Governor of the State, officials said, adding that the laws and rules translated were selected on the importance and relevance to the common man.

The move has earned much praise from the legal community in the State. Leading criminal lawyer C.H. Hanumantharaya said that this was the first step towards making laws in a language that people understand.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.