In a move that will make legal documents such as FIRs and property registration papers easily comprehensible to people, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has instructed police, land and revenue officials to do away with their archaic language.
Sources said that at a recent meeting with officials on "ease of doing business", Saxena instructed the officials for making the public interface with the government easily understandable to the citizens."He said the archaic language being used in documents of various departments, particularly police, land and revenue departments, the sub-registrar's office, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the lower judiciary, needs to be changed and updated according to the contemporary linguistic needs of people," sources said.
In many departments, including police, land and revenue, an old language format with a predominance of Persian and Urdu words, in accordance with British-era laws, is used for official purposes that is difficult to understand for many people, the sources said.
The LG has asked the home and revenue department officials of the Delhi government to simplify the language used in police summonses, FIRs, land records, mutation and registry documents and several other legal documents in a "time-bound" manner, they added. Saxena also suggested that even as government departments start the exercise of simplifying language of official papers, the courts could be requested to simplify language being used in legal matters and documents, the sources said. The LG also instructed the officials to prepare a department-wise list of reforms that could be introduced to make system transparent and more people-friendly. The departments concerned have been instructed to seek public opinion on such matters and based on feedback and viability of suggestions, specific reforms could be introduced.
In August 2019, the Delhi High Court had asked the city police to use a simple language in the FIRs, instead of using high-sounding words, to make it understandable to people.
