URDU DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION, BIHAR THROUGH ITS PRESIDENT, NASIMUDDIN AHMED S/O LATE MD. NAEEMUDDIN, R/O ISLAMGANJ CANAL ROAD, DEHRI Vs. THE UNION OF INDIA THROUGH MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (DEPARTMENT OF OFFICIAL LANGUAGE), NORTH BLOCK, NEW DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has sought a direction to the respondents to publish voters list in Urdu language which has been adopted as second language in the State of Bihar since 17th of April, 1981.

(2.) The petitioner relies upon the amendment made in the Bihar Rajbhasha Act, 1980 vide Bihar Rajbhasha (Amendment) Act, 1981 on 17.04.1981, whereby the Urdu language has been adopted as a second language in the fifteen districts of State of Bihar. Relying upon the said provision, the petitioner has sought that the voter list for conduct of elections to the parliament and to the State legislature is required to be published in Urdu language.

(3.) A perusal of the Rule (4) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 shows that the voter list of each constituency is required to be prepared in such form and in such language or languages as the Election Commission may direct. In pursuance of such rule, the Election Commission of India published a notification on 17.07.1987 contemplating that voter lists of all assembly constituencies in the State of Bihar shall be published in Hindi. Therefore, the notification published on 17.07.1987 is in terms of Rule (4) empowering the Election Commission to specify the languages in which the voter list has to be published. The State Language Act is for the purpose of language of the State. The Elections to the parliament and to the State legislature are carried out by the Election Commission of India in terms of provisions of Representation of People Act, 1950. The Registration of Elector Rules, 1960 has been framed in terms of provisions of the Representation of People Act, 1950. Therefore, the publication of the notification of the Election Commission of India directing the voter list in the State of Bihar to be published in Hindi cannot be said to be illegal, merely because the State Language Act contemplates Urdu as a second language in fifteen districts.