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Mumbai: For the
first time in India, key criminal laws as well as a dictionary of
legal terms have been made available in Urdu.
The "Taziraat-e-Hind" or the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the "Qanoon
Shahadat-e-Hind" or the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, are an
authentic translated version and bear the laws in Urdu both in
Persian and Devnagri scripts, said the chief translator, Muhammad
Irshad Hanif, said Sunday.
The translations have been brought out by a New Delhi-based
publishing house, along with a broadbased legal dictionary, billed
as the first of its kind in the country, and encompassing over
52,000 legal terms. It was also released recently.
"It has a foreword written by Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir.
Though the dictionary is focused on the Indian legal system, it
will have wide usage even in the international sphere," Hanif
said.
"Justice (retd.) Markandey Katju has been very kind enough to pen
a foreword for the translations of the laws, which has been a
matter of great encouragement," Hanif told IANS.
Top criminal lawyer Majeed Memon said these three translations
would greatly benefit the legal fraternity.
"In my four decades in the legal career, I have never come across
any law books in Urdu and this should help us all," Memon said.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Maharashtra legal panel member, lawyer Shahid N.
Ansari said this is the first time that the line-to-line
translation of the two laws is available in Urdu.
"It will immensely help the legal fraternity, especially the
litigants to understand the legal nuances in their cases in
courts," Ansari said.
The publication house, Imaan Media and Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.
(IMPH) will shortly bring out translations of the Criminal
Procedure Code (Cr.PC), 1973, and other Indian laws, Hanif said.
He said a Hindi version of these laws, brought out by some private
publishers, was available but was not up to the mark.
"Not only is the quality of translation very poor, there are
glaring errors in the translated versions which can be very
misleading for the readers," he said.
He added that with these books, the ordinary litigants would be
more empowered with correct knowledge of the laws and in a better
position to understand their lawyers, rights and liabilities, as
well as the legal proceedings in the courts.
"Very soon, we shall come out with the Cr.PC and all other Indian
laws in easy-to-use Urdu in Persian and Devnagari scripts," he
assured.
Hanif said that at present most of the legal work, barring in some
lower courts, continues to be carried out in English and a vast
majority of the laws are also not understood by most people
knocking at the doors of courts of law.
He expressed optimism that the new translated versions as well as
the legal dictionary would help clear the peoples' doubts on many
issues and help them face the legal system with more confidence.
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