Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday asserted that regional and local languages should be promoted in proceedings at lower and high courts.
The minister said mother tongue should not be considered lesser than English and asserted that he does not subscribe to the view that a lawyer should get more respect, cases or fees only because he speaks more in English.
He also said that no court should be only for the privileged and the doors of justice should be open for all, equally.
"Arguments and judgment in Supreme Court happen in English. But our vision is that in high courts and lower courts, regional and local languages need to be given priority," Mr. Rijiju said at the inaugural session of the 18th All India Legal Services Authority in Jaipur.
He said close to 71 Acts will be repealed during the Parliament session starting Monday.
Expressing concern over the rising number of pending cases in the country, he said such cases are going to be five crore but the pendency can be reduced with coordination between the judiciary and the government.
The government and judiciary should have good coordination to achieve the objective of delivering justice to the people, Mr. Rijiju said.
