SC adopting Bangla rapidly for judgement, order

The use of Bangla in the Supreme Court is increasing fast, with a number of judges now issuing judgements and orders in Bangla, lawyers occasionally filing petitions in the mother tongue and hearings also taking place in the state language.

Additionally, original judgements in English of both the Appellate Division and the High Court Division are being translated into Bangla so that the litigants can understand those easily.

Starting the journey in February 2021, the translation cell of the Supreme Court has translated around 200 verdicts so far by using artificial intelligence-based software "Amar Vasha" (My Language).

"The output of the software is quite good. Although the Supreme Court's translation cell works with only a five-member team, it has been possible to translate about 200 judgements so far thanks to the software," Mohammad Saifur Rahman, Supreme Court spokesperson and also the registrar of the Appellate Division, told The Business Standard. 

Late Justice ARM Amirul Islam Chowdhury first began issuing orders in Bangla in the 1990s. Subsequently, Justice Kazi Ebadul Hoque, Justice Hamidul Haque, Justice Abdul Quddus, former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque and former Appellate Division judge Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik gave several judgements in Bangla.

Former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque, who passed around 200 verdicts in the mother tongue, appreciated translating original English orders into Bangla. 

He, however, told The Business Standard that the translations should not be used as references for future cases since the translation may sometimes omit the main content of the original judgement.

Appellate Division Judge Justice M Enayetur Rahim delivered around 15,000 judgements and orders in Bangla while he was a High Court judge. 

On 1 February, the Appellate Division Chamber Court Judge gave all orders in Bangla and announced that henceforth he will deliver all judgments and orders in the state language.

Former law minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said High Court judges, lawyers and bench assistants have altogether developed an English framework over the years.   

"Therefore, it is not possible to introduce the use of Bangla in the High Court just overnight," he told The Business Standard.