Yesterday, the Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, speaking at an event organised by the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, talked about  Indian languages to be used in constitutional courts across the country while 

The minister further linked the use of the English language in courts to the high cost of litigation.

“Why shouldn't we use Indian languages in courts? We have told the Supreme Court as well. We are very keen on this. 5 High Courts are using Hindi. We have instant translation and transcription. We should think in Indian languages. Know all foreign languages, but thoughts should be Indian whether you have studied at Oxford, or Harvard,” he said while speaking in Hindi.

In Supreme Court, some lawyers are such that whether or not they possess knowledge, because they know English well their fees is higher, Rijiju said.

During his speech, Rijiju said that e-filing was the solution for the increasing pendency of cases in the country. “There are more than 500 crore pending cases in India. Pendency is not a good sign for any nation. Pendency is increasing and e-filing is the solution. The biggest litigant in India is the Government. If we do our work properly, the pendency will automatically decrease.”

He further said that the PM has allotted Rs 9,000 crores for the infrastructure of district courts but the development is delayed. “We want it to improve as soon as possible.”

Seemingly in response to statements made by Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi in the United Kingdom, Rijiju insisted that the judiciary is independent.

“There are a lot of debates going on. We should see what direction it's going in. We have a dream of making India a completely developed nation by the centenary of our Independence in 2047, we will have to overcome the challenges while achieving that, however difficult they may be. But our biggest enemies in that are those who attack our democracy. And while attacking democracy, these people raise questions on the system, of which the judiciary is a very important pillar.

When someone says the judiciary is getting weak means they are attacking the democracy of India. Democracy will be stronger only when the judiciary is stronger and independent. There can be no compromise on this. Some other governments had tried to undermine this in the past. I don’t want to get into the politics of it. But when that government tried to do this, the people of the country did not support them. The foundation of the democracy is so strong, that whoever tries to shake that foundation will get removed.'

But constantly saying that the Indian judiciary has been weakened and the Indian government is demolishing democracy, and going abroad and talking about the government having captured the judiciary amounts to talking against the country.

A narrative is being created by these people, by leftist and most illiberal group of people. They are creating a narrative that the government is pressurising the judiciary. But I want to assure you that the government under the leadership of Modiji is running the government keeping interest of all you in mind and the government will not only take care of the independence of the judiciary but will further strengthen it.”