Priyanka Singh
Published on: October 3, 2022 at 19:27 IST
On Monday, the President of the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association (GHCAA), Asim Pandya, resigned following the use of the idea of using Gujarati as an additional language in the Gujarat High Court and the conflict of opinion among the advocates regarding this.
The resignation, addressed to the Managing Committee of the GHCAA, stated the contention by the Senior Advocate that despite the opposition from a majority of members of the Association, he was unable to give up the movement of allowing the Gujarati language being an additional language, stating in his resignation letter that,
“I would rather give up my post of President of the Association than the personal ideology which is in the larger interest of litigants and the legal system.”
He added that the members opposing the idea of Gujarati’s inclusion as an additional language lack a convincing argument and that, “I am unable to appreciate the argument that the use of our mother tongue, Gujarati, can ever result in sacrificing the dignity and decorum of our court.”
The letter highlights the ‘imaginary’ fear of trial court lawyers storming the High Court of Gujarat for practicing.
The letter expresses his intention in his next campaign is the restoration of the original system evolved by the Bombay Bar Association of recognizing the Senior Advocates with decently good practice on the roll on a voluntary basis.
He further clarified that his resignation was not in relation to his personal ideology, and that he was grateful to the voters to elect him as the President without asking for the same.
To note, in August 2022, Senior Advocate Pandya, during his presidency had moved to the Governor of State of Gujarat, Devvrat Acharya, and sought specific authorization under Article 348(2) of the Constitution of India for allowance of the usage of Gujarati language alongside English in the court proceedings before the Gujarat High Court.
Article 348(2) – allows the Governor of a State to authorize the use of Hindi language or any other language used for official purposes, with due consent of the President, in proceedings in the High Court of the specific State.
The representation criticized the non-recognition of the Gujarati language restricts the access to justice to the litigant, financially and otherwise, who approaches the High Court of the Gujarat; representation being opposed by several members of the Association.
The Association announced their decision to be reserved, on September 30, recognizing the division in opinion among the Advocates.