In dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) calling for Sanskrit to be designated as a national language, the Supreme Court stated on Friday that designating a language as “national” is a policy choice that requires amending the Constitution, not an order from the court.
This is a matter of policy, and the Indian Constitution needs to be altered even for the aforementioned. A court of justices led by MR Shah and Krishna Murari ruled that no writ could be issued to Parliament designating any language as a national language.
During a PIL hearing for DG Vanzara, a retired bureaucrat, and a lawyer, the supreme court made the comments. Sanskrit is spoken in how many Indian cities? The choice is one of policy. We are unable to issue a writ ordering the Centre to adopt a specific course of action, the bench said.
Vanzara stated that he wants the Centre to hold a conversation on this, and the court’s encouragement can help to advance it inside the executive branch of government.
Do you speak Sanskrit? the bench jocularly inquired of the petitioner. Could you at least translate the plea in your writ petition to Sanskrit or speak a single sentence in Sanskrit? The bench retorted, “This we all know,” when Vanzara shared a Sanskrit shloka.
The petitioner claimed that the top court has broad authority under Article 32 and that by requesting the Center’s opinion on the matter, a step in that direction may be taken. The bench retorted, “This argument needs to take place in Parliament.
The panel rejected the argument and said that if the petitioner was given the go-ahead to make a representation, he might be free to do so before the government.
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