Influence Of Urdu Is Writ Large In Language Of Indian Courts: Supreme Court Takes Note Of Words Like ‘Adalat’, ‘Halafnama’, ‘Peshi’, ‘Valakatnama’
The Supreme Court said that one cannot have a day-to-day conversation in Hindi without using words of Urdu or words derived from Urdu.
The Supreme Court while taking note of the words like ‘Adalat’, ‘Halafnama’, ‘Peshi’, ‘Valakatnama’, etc., observed that the influence of Urdu is writ large in the language of the Indian Courts.
The Court observed thus in Civil Appeals preferred by a woman who was not pleased with the use of Urdu on the signboard of the new building of the Municipal Council, Patur in District Akola, Maharashtra. The said board displays "Municipal Council, Patur", in Marathi at the top, with its translation below in Urdu language.
The two-Judge Bench comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice K. Vinod Chandran remarked, “Interestingly, Urdu words have a heavy influence on Court parlance, both in criminal and civil law. From Adalat to halafnama to peshi, the influence of Urdu is writ large in the language of the Indian Courts. For that matter, even though the official language of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as per Article 348 of the Constitution is English, yet many Urdu words continue to be used in this Court till date. These include vakalatnama, dasti, etc.”
The Bench said that one cannot have a day-to-day conversation in Hindi without using words of Urdu or words derived from Urdu.
AOR Kunal Cheema represented the Appellant while AOR Aaditya Aniruddha Pande represented the Respondents.
Court’s Observations
The Supreme Court while taking extract from a Nazm by poet Iqbal Ashharthat, noted that if Urdu was to speak for herself, she would say:
“urdu hai mirā naam maiñ 'Khusrav' kī pahelī kyuuñ mujh ko banāte ho ta.assub kā nishāna maiñ ne to kabhī ḳhud ko musalmāñ nahīñ maanā dekhā thā kabhī maiñ ne bhī ḳhushiyoñ kā zamāna apne hī vatan meñ huuñ magar aaj akelī urdu hai mirā naam maiñ 'Khusrav' kī pahelī”
Urdu is my name, I am the riddle of 'Khusrav' Do not hold me for your prejudices I never considered myself a Muslim I too have seen happier times I feel like an outsider in my homeland today Urdu is my name, I am the riddle of 'Khusrav'
The Court further noted that Hindustani is not the official language under the Constitution and under Article 343 of the Constitution, Hindi is the official language, while the use of English was made permissible for official purposes for a period of fifteen years.
“But this does not mean that Hindustan and Urdu have become extinct. This was never the intention of the framers of the Constitution. In a speech to the Constituent Assembly on the language issue, Jawaharlal Nehru emphasized that the official language i.e. Hindi shall be enriched by borrowing the vocabulary from Urdu”, it said.
Urdu Language
The Court observed that Urdu language has come to be adopted by many States and Union Territories in India as the second official language in exercise of powers conferred by Article 345 of the Constitution.
“The States which have Urdu as one of the official languages are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, while the Union Territories which follow this practice are Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. … Even from a Constitutional perspective, the use of language for official purposes is not according to any rigid formula”, it added.
The Court was of the opinion that when we criticize Urdu, we are in a way also criticizing Hindi, as according to linguists and literary scholars, Urdu and Hindi are not two languages, but it is one language.
“True, Urdu is mainly written in Nastaliq17 and Hindi in Devnagri; but then scripts do not make a language. What makes languages distinct is their syntax, their grammar and their phonology. Urdu and Hindi have broad similarities in all these counts”, it also remarked.
Moreover, the Court said that if there are dissimilarities, there are plenty between Hindi and high Hindi, like there are between Urdu and high Urdu, but close similarities exist between Hindi and Urdu, when these are spoken day-to-day.
“This is not an occasion to have an elaborate discussion on the rise and fall of Urdu, but this much can be stated that this fusion of the two languages Hindi and Urdu met a roadblock in the form of the puritans on both sides and Hindi became more Sanskritized and Urdu more Persian. A schism exploited by the colonial powers in dividing the two languages on religion. Hindi was now understood to be the language of Hindus and Urdu of the Muslims,23 which is such a pitiable digression from reality; from unity in diversity; and the concept of universal brotherhood”, it remarked.
Conclusion
The Court observed that a Municipal Council is there to provide services to the local community of the area and cater to their immediate day-to-day needs.
“If people or a group of people, residing within the area covered by the Municipal Council are familiar with Urdu, then there should not be any objection if Urdu is used in addition to the official language i.e. Marathi, at least on the signboard of the Municipal Council”, it further observed.
The Court remarked that the language is a medium for exchange of ideas that brings people holding diverse views and beliefs closer and it should not become a cause of their division.
The Court, therefore, held that the display of an additional language cannot, by itself, be said to be in violation of the provisions of the Maharashtra 8 Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022.
“The entire case of the appellant to our mind is based on a misconception of law. We see no reason therefore to interfere in the present case”, it concluded.
Accordingly, the Apex Court dismissed the Appeals.
Cause Title- Varshatai W/o. Sanjay Bagade v. The State of Maharashtra through its Secretary, Ministry of Law and Judiciary, Mantralaya, Mumbai and Ors. Etc. (Neutral Citation: 2025 INSC 486)
