Chief Justice Dr. Chandrachud Stresses Regional Law Education for Effective Legal Aid
New Delhi, 13-07-2024:Chief Justice of India Dr. DY Chandrachud underlined the significance of making legal concepts understandable to the general public while highlighting the necessity of teaching law in regional languages. The Chief Justice of India said, “There is a deficiency in the legal profession and legal education if we cannot explain the principles of law to the general public in simple terms,” during the convocation of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia National Law University in Lucknow.
During his address, Chief Justice Chandrachud noted that he often engages with educationists nationwide to discuss how law can be taught in a simpler language. He asserted, “In teaching law, we should also consider regional languages, and I believe that RMNLU should start an LLB course in Hindi. Laws related to regional issues should also be taught in our universities. For instance, if someone comes to the university’s legal aid centre from a nearby village with a land-related problem and the student does not understand terms like Khasra and Khatauni, how will they be able to help? Therefore, students should be educated about regional laws related to land.”
As the chief guest, Dr. Chandrachud, along with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, distributed degrees to the graduating students. He further shared his efforts as CJI to make the justice process more accessible to the common people. “For example, the Supreme Court decisions provided in English are being translated into various languages recognized in the Constitution of India, allowing the public to understand the content of these decisions,” he said.
He added, “Currently, there are 37,000 Supreme Court decisions from 1950 to 2024 that have been translated into Hindi, and this service is available free of charge to all citizens.”
The event was also attended by Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Arun Bhansali, Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. Amarpal Singh, Head of the Law Department Prof. Aditya Pratap Singh, UP Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, and several judges of the Allahabad High Court.
