Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by a 56-year-old law student challenging his college’s refusal to evaluate his “Legal Language” paper written in Hindi.
The bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Anjhad observed that the subject was mandatorily required to be answered in English, as per Bar Council of India (BCI) rules and University of Mumbai circulars.
Case Background
The petitioner, Akhil Kumar Jain, had enrolled in a three-year LL.B course at Children Welfare Centre’s College of Law, Mumbai, after clearing the state Common Entrance Test last year.
Jain had answered four of his first-semester subjects in Hindi and secured good marks, but the college withheld his result in “Legal Language”, insisting that it had to be attempted in English.
Court Perusal of Answer Sheet
On September 17, the court directed the college to produce Jain’s answer sheet in a sealed cover. After perusing it, the judges noted that much of it was “illegible” and “impossible to assess”. The 20-page script, written mostly in Hindi, contained some English responses, but was largely incomprehensible.
“To be fair to the Petitioner, we handed over the photostat copies to the learned Advocates. After viewing the answer sheets, they agreed that the answer sheet is illegible,” the bench recorded.
BCI Rules and University Circular
The court also took on record documents produced by the University, including the Rules of Legal Education, 2008 framed by the BCI and a circular dated July 12, 2004. Clause 1 of Schedule II of the Rules specifies English as the medium of instruction for both three- and five-year law courses. The University circular further clarifies that subjects such as Legal Writing, Legal Language and General English must be answered “only in English”.
Court’s Observation
“It is obvious that the subject Legal Language must be answered in English,” the bench observed, adding that the subject involves Latin maxims and doctrines integral to legal studies.
“When the medium of instruction is prescribed as English by the Bar Council of India, and the Circular specifically indicates that certain subjects, including Legal Language, are to be answered only in English, we do not find that the College committed any mistake.”
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Hindi Not Permitted, Petition Rejected
While the BCI rules permit students to answer in their regional language, for Maharashtra this option extends only to Marathi, the court pointed out. Since Jain’s answers were in Hindi, and also illegible, no relief could be granted.
Final Order
“From every angle, we cannot persuade ourselves to accept the request of the Petitioner. This Petition is, therefore, dismissed,” the bench concluded.
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