Delhi HC asks DMRC to justify plea on renaming Supreme Court Metro in Hindi

The petition pointed out that, according to the Supreme Court’s official website, its Hindi name is ‘Bharat ka Sarvoch Nyayalaya’.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Thursday opposed before the Delhi high court a plea seeking to rename the Supreme Court Metro Station in Hindi as ‘Sarvochh Nyayalaya’, contending that the change would impose a financial burden on the public exchequer.

Delhi Metro coaches in Timarpur. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Appearing for DMRC, counsel submitted before chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia that the proposed renaming would require replacement of station signage as well as updates to road maps and mobile applications, entailing an estimated expenditure of ₹40–45 lakh.

“It comes as a financial burden. One such change is 40-45 lakh per station… It will involve a change in the roadmap. It’s a PSU and the public’s money,” the counsel submitted.

She further argued that allowing such a change could trigger a ripple effect, leading to multiple litigations seeking similar renaming of other metro stations.

However, the court observed that the apprehension of multiple litigations could not be relied upon as a valid ground to oppose the proposal. It directed the Centre and the DMRC to file an affidavit in the petition filed by advocate Umesh Sharma, keeping in view the mandate of the Official Languages Act, 1963 and the Official Languages (Use for Official Purposes of the Union) Rules, 1976.

To be sure, under Section 2(b) of the Act, ‘Hindi’ is defined to mean Hindi in the Devanagari script. Rule 11 provides that all manuals, codes and other procedural literature shall be printed or cyclostyled, as the case may be, and published both in Hindi and English in diglot form. The provision also stipulates that forms and headings of registers shall be in Hindi and English, and that all name-plates, signboards, letterheads and inscriptions on envelopes and other items of stationery shall be inscribed in Hindi and English.

“Multiple litigation is not (the defence). We have to honour the act. These are not the defences available to you to deny the application of the act. Let the affidavit and reply be filed by respondent number 3 (DMRC) and 4 (Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs),” the court said.

In his petition, Sharma contended that the current Hindi name of the metro station was also ‘Supreme Court’, an English term merely inscribed in Devanagari script, and not a Hindi word in Devanagari. He argued that Hindi, as defined under the Act, meant Hindi in the Devanagari script.

Sharma further submitted that while the Central Secretariat Metro Station is designated as ‘Kendriya Sachivalaya’ and the Delhi University Metro Station as ‘Delhi Vishwavidyalaya’ in Hindi, the Supreme Court Metro Station retained the same nomenclature in both Hindi and English. The petition also pointed out that, according to the Supreme Court’s official website, its Hindi name is ‘Bharat ka Sarvoch Nyayalaya’, and therefore the metro station’s Hindi inscription should reflect the same.

The matter will be heard next on April 22.