'Judgment in English is not wrong'

A division bench, comprising Justices R Sudhakar and PN Prakash, while dismissing a batch of Habeas Corpus petitions as devoid of merit, said “We find that the entire trial has been conducted in Tamil. The accused were questioned under Section 235(2) Cr.P.C, relating to their sentence and their answers have also been recorded as it is by the trial judge.” 

The case pertains to the conviction and sentence of 14 persons for various offences, including Sections 302, 149 and 120B IPC, for three distinct incidents by the Tiruvallur additional and district sessions judge on December 21, 2015. 

Counsel for the petitioners Sankarasubbu had submitted that when the judgment had been delivered in English, in which the accused are not conversant, the same is void. Therefore, their further detention based on such a judgment is illegal and hence the Habeas Corpus Petitions are maintainable. 

He had also submitted that by virtue of Section 4B of the Tamil Nadu Official Languages Act, 1956, Tamil was the Official language of the courts subordinate to the High Courts, and that the judgment should be written in Tamil. 

But, the bench, in a common order, said “we cannot hold that, just because the judicial officer has translated her thought process into English and written the judgment, her entire judgment is void and the detention of the prisoners is illegal.” 

The division bench also held that the Habeas Corpus petitions is not maintainable since the prisoners are detained based on an order of conviction and sentence by a court of competent jurisdiction.