Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: September 11, 2022 at 18:07 IST
The Bombay High Court recently ordered the Maharashtra Government to make certain that the Public Prosecutors Examination in the State be conducted in Marathi as well as English Language.
This order will be achievable from the exam next year and not the one upcoming on September 11. The exam is currently held only in English Language.
A bench of Justice SV Gangapurwala and RN Laddha observed that though the Court had issued directions 12 years ago to hold the examination for subordinate judicial officers in the State in Marathi as well, the Government had not complied with the same.
A petition was filed by a person appearing for the examination for selection of public prosecutors.
The exam is currently being conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) in English language only.
Advocate Alankar Kirpekar mentioned the Bombay High Court’s 2010 judgment in Prashant P. Giri & Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. to highlight that it had directed examinations for subordinate judicial officers to be held in Marathi language apart from English as the State Government’s policy dictated that Marathi be made the language of lower courts.
It also further cited that the petitioner who had studied Marathi all his life would be prejudiced to answer the question paper in English language.
Government Pleader MP Thakur informed the Court that the respondents were considering a representation made to them by the petitioner but for the next examination.
The 7700 candidates appearing this year are taking the examination in English language and claimed that it was difficult to find the examiner to assess the answer paper in Marathi.
The Court observed that the petitioner represented this issue in June 2022 while the examination is scheduled to be held on September 11. Thus, the Court opined that the State had enough time to find an examiner to assess the papers in Marathi.
It also further stated that the government ought to have been serious about implementation of the Court’s judgments and should have held the public prosecutor examination in Marathi.
Since the upcoming examination is to be held in a few days, the Court submitted not to hinder with it but directed the respondents to conduct the next examination in English as well as Marathi.
