New Delhi: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Sunday spoke of the need to work towards making SC judgments available in regional languages. “The next step of our mission is to provide translated copies of Supreme Court judgements in every Indian language. Unless we reach out to our citizens in a language that they can understand, the work we’re doing isn’t reaching out to 99% of people,” said DY Chandrachud.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Chandrachud’s push for making Supreme Court judgments available in regional languages using technology.

“At a recent function, the Hon’ble CJI Justice DY Chandrachud spoke of the need to work towards making SC judgments available in regional languages. He also suggested the use of technology for it. This is a laudatory thought, which will help many people, particularly youngsters,” Modi wrote on Twitter and shared on the site the relevant clip of the CJI’s speech delivered at an event organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa in Mumbai.

The prime minister has in the past often pitched for making judicial verdicts more accessible to the common man by making those available in regional languages.

At a recent function, the Hon’ble CJI Justice DY Chandrachud spoke of the need to work towards making SC judgments available in regional languages. He also suggested the use of technology for it. This is a laudatory thought, which will help many people, particularly youngsters. pic.twitter.com/JQTXCI9gw0

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 22, 2023

“India has several languages, which add to our cultural vibrancy. The central government is undertaking numerous efforts to encourage Indian languages including giving the option of studying subjects like engineering and medicine in one’s Matru Bhasha (mother tongue),” Modi said in another tweet. 

On Saturday, CJI Chandrachud said that in an increasingly digitalised world, the next step for the Indian judiciary would be to make Supreme Court decisions available in all Indian languages, possibly using AI tools.

The CJI was delivering a speech at a celebration hosted by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa.

The CJI had stated, “I met with a professor of Madras who works in AI and the next step is to have translated copies of Supreme Court judgments in every Indian language.”

The CJI had added that English judgments would not be helpful to a rural litigant who does not comprehend the tenor or particulars of English.