The Delhi High Court on Wednesday clarified that it had, in a previous order, directed that FIRs should be registered in simple language, and archaic Urdu and Persian words could be avoided.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice C. Hari Shankar also clarified that police could use simple Urdu and Persian words while registering complaints.
The Bench made the clarification while disposing of a petition challenging a police circular to its stations to stop the use of 383 Urdu or Persian words while registering FIRs.
The petitioner, Naima Pasha, claimed that the circular was issued “purportedly” on the High Court’s August 7 direction to use simple words while lodging complaints, as some Urdu and Persian words of general use also figured in the list of 383 terms.
“Archaic Urdu and Persian words ought not to be utilised [while lodging FIRs] and that is what we intended to convey by our order of August 7 in a separate pending PIL before us. Urdu and Persian words of general use can be used,” the court said.
In a separate petition, the court had on November 25 called for 100 FIR copies to ascertain whether the circular of November 20 was being adhered to. The police on Wednesday submitted the FIR copies before the court which noted that the words prohibited in the circular were still being used while registering complaints.
The court noted that police was taking steps to avoid usage of archaic Urdu and Persian words as it has issued a circular and the FIRs also indicate decrease in use of such terms. The court also asked the police to put up on its website the list of Urdu and Persian words, whose use has been prohibited.
