HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the state government to a PIL challenging the use of English in official communications instead of Telugu.
Hearing the PIL filed by G Uma Maheshwar Rao, a resident of Serilingampally, a bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J Sreenivas Rao issued notices to the chief secretary and key departments of the state government.
The PIL urged the court to direct the state government to implement the provisions of the Official Language Act, 1966 and various GOs related to the use of Telugu as the sole official language. The PIL expresses concerns about the continued use of English in official documents like GOs, ordinances, laws and its correspondence, despite several directives mandating the use of Telugu.
The petitioner cited GO 587 dated October 28, 1988, GO 131 dated March 26, 1987, GO 455 dated August 22, 1992 and GO 420 dated September 13, 2005 which stress the use of Telugu for official communication and said that the failure of the state administration to comply with these GOs and the provisions of the Official Language Act was illegal and in violation of Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression) and Article 345 (official language of the state).
The PIL further contends that the continued use of English in official correspondence leads to an uninformed citizenry and creates a democratic deficit, undermining the basic principles of governance.