In a laudable initiative that would benefit the litigant public, two magistrates in Srikakulam, both husband and wife, recently pronounced judgments in Telugu.
Judicial First Class Magistrate A. Padma pronounced four judgments and Magistrate of Mobile Court S. Chinababu one in Telugu. It was a Herculean task for them as there are no stenographers and typists who can do their job in Telugu. At their request, stenographer A. Veerraju leant Telugu typewriting and prepared the documents in the vernacular language. Their task turned out to be all the more difficult as there were only a few books in Telugu that covered legal terminology. According to sources, drafting work in all courts in Tamil Nadu is in Tamil only. But Telugu is not used in Andhra Pradesh though the State government had issued orders to this effect in 1984. However, both the State government and High Court recently decided to encourage advocates and judges to use Telugu .
“As English is widely used, litigants have become mute spectators in courts as they do not understand the arguments and judgment copies. Advocates concerned have to explain them again, ” says Jallu Tirupati Rao, a senior advocate.
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Many lawyers have welcomed the move and assured that they would file petitions in Telugu once legal terminology is translated from English.