Maharashtra Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Township Act, 1965 – ss.308, 318 – Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022 – Use of Urdu on the signboard of the Municipality in Maharashtra – Board displaying the name of the Municipal Council on its building in Marathi at the top with translation below in Urdu language – Challenged by the appellant-former member of Municipal Council – High Court held that 2022 Act does not prohibit the use of an additional language which is Urdu in the instant case, on the signboard of Municipal Council building – Interference with:
Held: Not called for – High Court was right in its conclusion – There is no prohibition on using any other language, especially one included in the VIIIth Schedule of the Constitution – Enactment recognizes that language essentially is a tool of communication which cannot be condemned, when this language is being used by a community or group – Marathi and Urdu occupy the same position under Schedule VIII of the Constitution – Purpose for use of Urdu is merely communication – 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-Marathi, at least on the signboard of the Municipal Council – 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 – Display of an additional language cannot, by itself, be said to be in violation of the provisions of the 2022 Act – No prohibition on the use of Urdu under the 2022 Act or in any provision of law – Case of the appellant based on a misconception of law. [Paras 15, 19, 46, 49] Language – Urdu language – Usage and recognition – Prejudice against Urdu – Elucidation:
Held: Urdu is the finest specimen of ganga-jamuni tahzeeb, or the Hindustani tahzeeb, which is the composite cultural ethos of the plains of northern and central India – Urdu was the sixth most spoken scheduled language of India – It is spoken by at least a part of the population in all States and Union Territories, except the north-eastern States – Prejudice against Urdu, arises from the misconception that Urdu is alien to India, however, it is incorrect as Urdu, like Marathi and Hindi, is Indo-Aryan language – Urdu language was born in this land, it developed and flourished in India and attained ever greater refinement and became the language of choice for many acclaimed poets – Even today, language used by the common people of the country is replete with words of Urdu language – One cannot have a dayto-day conversation in Hindi without using words of Urdu or words derived from Urdu – Urdu words have a heavy influence on Court parlance, both in criminal and civil law – Influence of Urdu writ large in the language of Indian courts – Urdu language has been adopted by many States and Union Territories in India as the second official language in exercise of powers conferred by Art.
345 – Furthermore, Urdu and Hindi are not two languages, but is one language, both having broad similarities – Constitution of India. [Paras 18, 20, 27, 37-39, 41]
Language – Language and religion – Primary purpose of a language – Explanation:
Held: Language is not religion – Language does not even represent religion – Language belongs to a community, to a region, to people; and not to a religion – Language is culture – Language is the yardstick to measure the civilizational march of a community and its people – Primary purpose of a language will always remain communication – Language as a representative of culture makes discussion on it both sensitive and delicate – People of India have taken great pain in resolving the language issue at the Centre, which is the unique achievement considering the linguistic diversity of the nation – 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 – Misconceptions, perhaps even the prejudices against a language have to be courageously and truthfully tested against the reality, which is the great diversity of the nation. [Paras 17-21, 46, 48]
Constitution of India – Schedule VIII – Arts. 345, 351 – Power of the State to adopt official languages – States with more than one official language – Stated. [Paras 21-26]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain Extract from a Nazm by poet Iqbal Ashhar. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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