Union Minister for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, revealed in the Rajya Sabha that the Supreme Court has introduced SUVAS, a machine-assisted translation tool, aimed at promoting regional languages within the realm of judicial procedures. This tool, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is specifically tailored for the judicial domain, capable of translating English judicial documents, orders, or judgments into eleven vernacular languages.
Meghwal's announcement came in response to a query by BJP leader Harnath Singh Yadav concerning the provision of justice in regional languages. Upholding the significance of regional languages in the judicial process, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, ahead of the hearing on the Citizenship Act, highlighted the availability of the landmark Kesavananda Bharati verdict in 10 Indian languages on the Supreme Court's website. This strategic move is intended to ensure broader access to the judgment across diverse segments of Indian society.
Commencing a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Kesavananda Bharati case, the CJI referenced a video produced by the apex court that has been translated into ten Indian languages, namely English, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, Malayalam, Gujarati, Kannada, Assamese, and Marathi.
Underlining the efforts to make judicial insights accessible, the CJI highlighted that the court has uploaded around 20,000 judgments on the e-SCR portal of the court's website, extending the practice of translating judgments from Independence to the current date. This initiative seeks to bridge language barriers, ensuring legal information and rulings are comprehensible and accessible to a wider audience.
