Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution in English not in Hindi: Kerala

The Kerala High Court, while deciding a PIL challenging the Hindi titles given to three new criminal laws (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksh...

What Happened

The Kerala High Court, while deciding a PIL challenging the Hindi titles given to three new criminal laws (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam), made a significant constitutional observation: the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India in English, not in Hindi.
The Division Bench ruled that citizens have no fundamental right to demand that the title of an enactment be in a language familiar to them.
The Court distinguished between the "authoritative text" of legislation (which Article 348 mandates be in English) and the "nomenclature" or title of laws — holding that Article 348 applies to the body of legislation, not its title.
The ruling upheld Parliament's authority to choose the language of law titles, finding that nothing in the Constitution precludes the use of Hindi for naming legislation.
The PIL was dismissed, with the Court noting that the authoritative text of all three laws remains in English — satisfying the Article 348 requirement — even if their titles are in Hindi.

Static Topic Bridges

The Constituent Assembly and the Language of the Constitution

The Constituent Assembly of India, which drafted the Constitution, sat from December 9, 1946 to November 26, 1949. The Constitution was formally adopted on November 26, 1949, and came into force on January 26, 1950. The debates in the Assembly were conducted primarily in English (though Hindi speeches were common), and the authoritative text of the Constitution, as adopted, was in English. Each member signed two copies at the final session — one in English and one in Hindi — but the English text was the authoritative version.

The Constituent Assembly had 299 members (at adoption) drawn from provincial assemblies and princely states; it functioned for approximately 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days.
B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee (7 members); K.M. Munshi and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar were prominent draftsmen.
The Draft Constitution was published in February 1948 and circulated for public comment; the Assembly sat for 11 sessions totalling 166 days of debate.
The language controversy in the Constituent Assembly reached its peak in September 1949: on September 14, 1949, after intense debate, Hindi in Devanagari script was adopted as the Official Language of the Union — but with a 15-year transition period during which English would continue as an associate official language.
The "Munshi-Ayyangar Formula" (named after K.M. Munshi and Gopalaswami Ayyangar) was the compromise that broke the deadlock — accepting Hindi as official language while protecting English for a defined transitional period.

Connection to this news: The Kerala HC's observation that the Constitution was adopted in English — not Hindi — is factually grounded in Constituent Assembly records. It was a constitutional observation made to underscore that Parliament's choice of language for law titles does not disturb the deeper constitutional architecture, which has always had English as the authoritative text.

Official Language Provisions — Articles 343 to 351 (Part XVII)

Part XVII of the Constitution (Articles 343 to 351) deals with the Official Language of the Union, regional languages, language of the judiciary, and special directives. These provisions reflect the compromise reached in the Constituent Assembly between the Hindi-language lobby and the non-Hindi-speaking states.

Article 343(1): Hindi in Devanagari script is the Official Language of the Union. Arabic numerals are the official script for numerals.
Article 343(2): English was to continue as associate official language for 15 years from January 26, 1950 (i.e., until January 26, 1965).
Article 343(3): Parliament may by law provide for the use of English (or Devanagari numerals) for official purposes even after 1965 — the basis for the Official Languages Act, 1963.
Article 344: President to constitute an Official Language Commission after 5 years (and every 10 years thereafter) to recommend measures for progressive use of Hindi.
Article 348(1): The authoritative text of all Bills, Acts, Ordinances, Orders, Rules, Regulations, and Bye-laws shall be in English until Parliament by law otherwise provides. Proceedings of the Supreme Court and High Courts are also to be in English.
Article 350: Right to submit representations for grievance redress in any language used in the Union or State.
Article 350A: Instruction in mother tongue at primary stage for linguistic minority children.
Article 350B: Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities (appointed by President).
Article 351: Directive for development of Hindi language.

Connection to this news: Article 348 is the pivot of the Kerala HC ruling. The Court held that Article 348's "authoritative text" requirement applies to the body/content of legislation, not its title — allowing Hindi-named statutes as long as the operative text is in English.

The Eighth Schedule and Language Recognition

The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution lists languages officially recognised by the Union. Originally, it contained 14 languages; it now contains 22 following successive amendments.

Original 14 (1950): Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya (Odia), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.
Additions: Sindhi (21st Amendment, 1967); Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali (71st Amendment, 1992); Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali (92nd Amendment, 2003).
Current count: 22 languages.
Significance: Inclusion in the Eighth Schedule enables the language to be recommended by the Official Language Commission, used in state legislatures, and for official purposes of the state.
Demands for inclusion: Several languages including Tulu, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, and others have ongoing demands for Eighth Schedule inclusion.

Connection to this news: The language debate triggered by the new criminal laws' Hindi names connects to the broader Eighth Schedule question — which languages are constitutionally recognised and how official language policy intersects with linguistic pluralism in a diverse polity.

Official Languages Act, 1963 and Anti-Hindi Agitation

The 15-year transition period under Article 343(2) was set to end on January 26, 1965 — meaning English would have ceased to be an official language. This triggered the 1965 anti-Hindi agitation, particularly severe in Tamil Nadu, with protests, deaths, and political upheaval. In response, the Official Languages Act, 1963 (amended 1967) provided for the indefinite continuation of English alongside Hindi for official Union purposes, effectively overriding the 1965 sunset.

The Official Languages Act, 1963 is Parliament's exercise of power under Article 343(3).
Section 3(2) of the Act (as amended 1967) provides that English shall continue to be used for all official purposes of the Union and for Parliament's proceedings even after 1965 — making English a permanent co-official language in practice.
The 1965 agitation is constitutionally and historically significant: it demonstrated that language policy is not merely administrative but deeply political and social, and that unilateral imposition of a single official language can threaten national integration.
UPSC testable connection: The Three Language Formula (1968 National Policy on Education) emerged partly as a response — providing that states would teach Hindi, English, and a regional language in schools, defusing the tension without mandating Hindi displacement of English.

Connection to this news: The Kerala HC's ruling — from a non-Hindi-speaking state — that the Constitution's authoritative text is in English is historically resonant: it reflects the constitutional compromise that made English the language of law's authoritative text precisely so that all citizens, regardless of their Hindi proficiency, could rely on a common legal reference.

Key Facts & Data

Constitution adopted: November 26, 1949 (Constituent Assembly); in force January 26, 1950.
Authoritative text of Constitution: English (both English and Hindi copies signed; English is authoritative).
Constituent Assembly: 299 members at adoption; sat for 166 days over ~3 years.
Hindi as Official Language: Adopted September 14, 1949 (Constituent Assembly debate).
Article 343: Hindi (Devanagari) as Official Language of the Union; 15-year English transition.
Article 348: Authoritative text of all legislation and court proceedings to be in English.
Official Languages Act, 1963 (amended 1967): English continues indefinitely alongside Hindi.
Eighth Schedule languages: 22 (originally 14 in 1950).
Kerala HC case: PIL in WP(C) No. 19240 of 2024 (P V Jeevesh v. Union of India) — dismissed.
Laws challenged: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
Court holding: No fundamental right to demand law titles in a familiar language; Parliament may use Hindi for nomenclature; Article 348 applies to text, not title.
Munshi-Ayyangar Formula: The Constituent Assembly compromise on official language (September 1949).