NGT BENCH RELAXES LANGUAGE RULE

Tribunal

Pune NGT

Maharashtra

Gujarat

Daman

Dadra

U D Salvi

Ajay A Deshpande

Vinod Jain

Jain

Ghorpadi

Mundhwa

Bombay High Court

Harshad Mandke

Kainat Shaikh

W K Bidkar

Gujarati

Konkani

Taking a unique stand, the Pune bench of the National Green(NGT) has allowed a petitioner to present his case in Marathi, after he claimed that he does not understand English. The order comes despite Section 33 of NGT Rule-2011, stipulating that the language of the Tribunal shall be expressly in English, with Hindi being used at the NGT’s discretion.Thebench has the jurisdiction ofand Goa, along with the Union Territories of, Diu andand Nagar Haveli.Despite the allowance made by a bench of justiceand expert member Drconsidering the special case, several restrictions have been imposed and petitionerwill have to argue his case personally without the appointment of a lawyer.discharged his advocate after taking his consent.Jain, a tree activist, is fighting a case of felling of fully grown ancient banyan trees along a 3.5-km stretch of road betweenandin December 2013 where 77 trees were cut and not replanted, thereby going against the’s (HC) order. In this case, the municipal commissioner and garden department are the respondents.Speaking to Mirror, Jain said, “I am happy to have been allowed this liberty and am ready to face the consequences. It will help to have a direct dialogue with the court. I protested against English being the sole language in the argument and the bench considered what I said. The issue was not personal, but related to the environment.”Advocate, who represented Jain, said, “The court has allowed this, but the documentation and submission of pleadings will have to be in English and Hindi — a double effort to the petitioner. However, Rule 33 of the NGT cannot be bent completely. So, while giving permission, the court warned Jain that other instructions would have to be followed.”, another lawyer, said, “Justice should indeed be in the people’s language. This is a welcome move by the NGT bench, but it needs to check whether the petitioner is able to convey his pleadings properly. To submit the documents and other applications in English and Hindi, he will have to rely on the advocates for authentic translation.”However, advocatecountered, “The Pune bench is established for western India. In this case, both the judges are natives of Maharashtra. But, what if a petitioner from Gujarat or Goa asks to be allowed to argue inor? It’s an intelligent move by the bench to impose restrictions while granting permission, so that uniformity can be maintained.”█ In this case, both the judges are natives of Maharashtra. But, what if a petitioner from Gujarat or Goa asks to be allowed to argue in Gujarati or Konkani?