Allahabad High Court Prohibits 'Hinglish' Judgments: Trial Courts Must Use Either Hindi or English Exclusively

The Allahabad High Court issued a significant ruling on Friday, clarifying that trial courts in Uttar Pradesh must write their judgments entirely in either Hindi or English, prohibiting the use of a mixed language approach.

A division bench consisting of Justice Rajeev Misra and Justice Ajay Kumar delivered this pronouncement while dismissing a criminal appeal filed by Vaid Prakash Tyagi, who had challenged the acquittal of an accused husband in a dowry death case.

The court emphasized that as Uttar Pradesh is a Hindi-speaking state, judgments written in Hindi serve the essential purpose of ensuring ordinary litigants can comprehend both the judgment and the reasoning behind the court's decision to either accept or reject their claims.

The bench specifically pointed to a judgment from an Agra sessions court as a 'classic example' of improper practice, where the text alternated between English and Hindi languages.

In their October 29 ruling, the judges directed that their judgment be presented to the chief justice for appropriate action and distributed to all judicial officers throughout Uttar Pradesh, expressing their 'hope and trust' that courts will adhere to writing judgments exclusively in either Hindi or English.