Prez urged for Marathi in courts

MUMBAI: A delegation comprising members of the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council and Marathi Bhasha Saurakshan Vikas Sansthan will meet President Pratibha Patil to demand introduction of Marathi as the language to be used in the courts in Maharashtra.

Shantaram Datar, founder president of the Sansthan, said his organisation and others had been pressing for the demand for long but to no avail.

Datar was hopeful that since the President hails from Maharashtra, she would consider the demand sympathetically. The organisation had submitted a memorandum to the President in August this year. He added that a memorandum had also been submitted to Maharashtra Governor SM Krishna.

“Most litigants in the state do not understand English and are unable to follow court proceedings,” Datar said. Orders could be translated in English for petitions before the Apex court, he added.