The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a petition filed by an elderly litigant from Rajkot seeking permission to argue his case in Gujarati, reiterating that English is the court’s official language. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray held that allowing arguments in Gujarati would affect judicial proceedings, as court queries and orders are issued only in English.
The plea followed the High Court Legal Services Committee’s decision declaring the petitioner unfit to represent himself due to his inability to understand and communicate in English. While the petitioner said he appears on his own in district courts, the bench noted that High Court proceedings involve specialised legal terminology. The court advised him to seek legal aid instead. The petitioner had earlier failed to get relief from a single-judge bench before moving the division bench.