Gujarat High Court Case Information System
Print
SCA/2896/2009 2/ 4 ORDER
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL
CIVIL APPLICATION No. 2896 of 2009
=============================================
SURESHBHAI
B KACHHADIA - Petitioner(s)
Versus
UNION
OF INDIA & 2 - Respondent(s)
=============================================
Appearance
:
MR
HARSHADRAY A DAVE for Petitioner(s) : 1,MR HARDIK A DAVE for
Petitioner(s) : 1,
MR RM CHHAYA for Respondent(s) : 1,
MR NJ
SHAH AGP for Respondent(s) : 2,
NOTICE NOT RECD BACK for
Respondent(s) : 3,
=============================================
CORAM
:
HONOURABLE
THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA
and
HONOURABLE
MR.JUSTICE ANANT S. DAVE
Date
: 13/01/2010
ORAL ORDER
(Per
: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. S.J. MUKHOPADHAYA)
This
public interest litigation has been preferred by the petitioner for
directing the respondents to ensure that the manufacturers of goods
are obliged to show or write or publish all the details of goods
namely price of goods, ingredients of goods, date of manufacture,
manufacturing and marketing unit etc. in Hindi.
Learned
counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the
consumers are entitled to know what they are consuming as a right is
available to them under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The
Legislature has made provisions in the Statute making the consumers
aware about ingredients they are consuming and what is provided to
them. The language, as per dictionary meaning, means mode of
communication which generally is used in nation or in a group of
people and if the things are conveyed or communicated in that
particular people or citizens or group of people, they will
understand it correctly in its correct sense and spirit. It was
contended that Hindi being the national language and has been
communicated and understood by a large number of persons in the
country, direction should be given to publish all details of goods in
Hindi. Learned counsel for the petitioner relied on the deliberation
which was made in the discussion of the Constituent Assembly wherein
deliberating on the issue of language formula, it was suggested by
the Sub-Committee to use Hindustani written either in the Devanagari
or the Persian script, as the national language and for its inclusion
in the Fundamental Rights.
Learned
counsel appearing on behalf of Union of India by referring to the
Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977
submitted that under Rule 9(4) it has been prescribed that the
particulars of declaration required to be specified under this rule
on a package shall be either in Hindi in Devanagari script or in
English. Similarly, Rule 33(3A) also prescribes that the particulars
of declaration required to be specified under the said rule on a
package either in Hindi in Devanagari script or in English.
We
have heard the learned counsel for the parties and notice their rival
contentions. It is true that the Constituent Assembly while
discussing the Language Formula noticed the recommendation of the
Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights, which recommended the following
formula :-
Hindustani,
written either in Devanagari or the Persian script at the option of
the citizen, shall, as the national language, be the first official
language of the Union. English shall be the second official language
for such period as the Union may by law determine. All official
records of the Union shall be kept in Hindustani in both the scripts
and also in English until the Union by law otherwise provides.
However,
after such deliberation when the Constitution of India was accepted
under Chapter IV `Special Directives’, Article 351 was enacted as
follows :-
351. Directive
for development of Hindi language. – It shall be the duty of the
Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so
that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of
the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by
assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style
and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of
India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever
necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and
secondarily on other languages.
Part
XVII of the Constitution deals with Official Language. Under Article
343, official language of the Union has been prescribed, which
includes Hindi in Devanagari script and English. This will be evident
from the said provision, which reads as follows :-
343. Official
language of the Union. – (1) The official language of the Union
shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
The
form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union
shall be the international form of Indian numerals.
(2) Notwithstanding
anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the
commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall
continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for
which it was being used immediately before such commencement.
Provided
that the President may, during the said period, by order authorise
the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and
of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international
form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the
Union.
(3) Notwithstanding
anything in this article, Parliament may by law provide for the use,
after the said period of fifteen years, of –
(a) the
English language, or
(b) the
Devanagari form of numerals,
for
such purposes as may be specified in the law.
Normally,
in India, majority of the people have accepted Hindi as a national
language and many people speak Hindi and write in Devanagari script
but there is nothing on the record to suggest that any provision has
been made or order issued declaring Hindi as a national language of
the country.
In
the present case, as we find that under Rules 9(4) and 33(3A) a
specific provision has been made to give the particulars of
declaration under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged
Commodities) Rules, 1977, either in Hindi in Devanagari script or in
English, it is for the manufacturers and others who are guided by the
Rules of 1977 to decide whether particulars of declaration should be
in Hindi in Devanagari script or in English. No mandamus can be
issued on any of such manufacturers or others for giving details or
particulars of package in Hindi in Devanagari script.
There
being no merit, the petition is dismissed but there shall be no order
as to costs.
(S.J.
MUKHOPADHAYA, C.J.)
(ANANT
S DAVE, J.)
zgs/-
Top