Supreme Court expresses doubts: Can proceedings be conducted in English in Kerala?

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has expressed doubts over whether court proceedings in Kerala can effectively be conducted in English. The court observed that although people in Kerala understand English, they are generally not comfortable speaking the language in court. The observation came while the Supreme Court allowed a petition filed by a woman from Punjab seeking the transfer of her divorce case from Kerala to Ludhiana in Punjab.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said that language issues could affect the hearing of the case, especially since disputes related to the couple’s child were also involved. The husband’s lawyer, Aljo K. Joseph, argued that everyone in Kerala knows English, but the court did not agree.

The Punjabi woman married a Malayali man in 2017. After marriage, the couple settled in the UK, where differences reportedly developed in their relationship. They lived together until 2023. As disagreements became serious, the husband returned to Kerala with their child and later filed for divorce there.