By Didarul Alam

DHAKA, Feb 5, 2025 (BSS) – The practice of Bangla language is increasing day by day in holding hearings, pronouncing verdicts and issuing orders in both the High Court Division and Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Earlier, the number of verdicts and orders in Bangla was only a handful. Over the past few years, the practice of issuing orders and verdicts in Bangla has been increasing gradually.

A High Court division bench comprising Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam and Justice Md Hamidur Rahman delivered the verdict of a case in Bangla today in the month of the great Language Movement.

The bench pronounced the judgment after hearing the convicts' death references and jail appeals in the case filed over firing and bombing at a train carrying the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina when the train reached Ishwardi in Pabna, more than three decades ago.

The court pronounced the observation and sentencing part of the verdict in Bangla. All the accused were acquitted in the verdict.

At the onset of announcing the verdict, the senior judge of the bench Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam said that the subject matter of the case is extensive.

February is the month of the great Language Movement, which is the historic event of 1952, he said, adding, the verdict was being pronounced in Bengali.

Later, Justice Muhammad Mahbub Ul Islam pronounced the sentencing part along with the observation of the verdict in Bangla.

Now all the Supreme Court verdicts are available in Bangla on the website. Technology services have been added to display all the Supreme Court verdicts and orders, which were given in English’ in Bengali.

The judgments or orders given in English and published on the Supreme Court website are translated into Bengali through Google Translation. The Supreme Court administration has made arrangements to show the judgments and orders in Bangla aimed at ensuring easy accessibility of the judicial process to the people.

According to Supreme Court lawyers, the addition and inauguration of the technology to show verdicts and orders of the country’s apex court in Bangla has added a new dimension to the history of the judiciary of Bangladesh.

After inaugurating the technology service, the Supreme Court administration said lawyers, litigants or any person themselves can see all the judgments and orders, published in English on the website of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, in Bangla with the help of Google technology.

The Supreme Court administration also said that a significant number of judges of the both divisions of the Supreme Court regularly give judgments and orders in Bangla.
 
Besides, judgments and orders, given in English, are being translated into Bangla through a technology named 'Amar Bhasha', which is powered by artificial intelligence (AI), since 2021.
In the lower courts of the country, except in some cases, hearings of most of the cases are held in Bangla while the verdicts are pronounced in the same language as well.

The practice of English in the Supreme Court was strong due to various reasons, including the prevalence of British law. Day by day, in most of the cases, the hearings and arguments of lawyers in Bangla in the Supreme Court are being accelerated.

At different times, several judges of the High Court Division have pronounced judgments and orders in Bangla. Justice Md Ruhul Quddus, Justice Mostafa Zaman Islam, Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman, Justice Bhishmadev Chakrabortty, Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman, Justice Md Atoar Rahman, Justice Md Riaz Uddin Khan and Justice Md Zakir Hossain are among them.

Earlier, the High Court issued a rule on using Bangla in different offices including in signboards. However, there is still a gap in the full implementation of this ruling.

Talking to BSS, Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Siddique Ullah Miah said, “Our mother tongue Bangla has a rich and glorious history. The existing laws of the country must be in Bangla. If the court verdicts and orders are pronounced in Bangla, it is easier for the general people to understand those”.

Noting that the number of verdicts in Bangla is increasing day by day in the High Court, he said as a result, litigants are feeling comfortable.

Siddique put emphasize on increasing the use of Bangla in the country’s higher courts as well as in the education system for further enrichment of the language.

“Like English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, German, Arabic, and Hindi languages, we also can help Bangla secure an important place in the international arena,” he added.