Supreme Court moots having interpreter for all Constitution Bench hearings

The Supreme Court on Friday suggested that it is contemplating the idea of having an interpreter present for all the Constitution Bench hearings so that the court proceedings are understood by everyone including deaf persons..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra made the suggestion earlier today after noting the presence of deaf lawyer, advocate Sarah Sunny, who was observing a case. .The top court had yesterday decided to appoint an interpreter at its own expense so that advocate Sunny could follow the hearings better. CJI Chandrachud today hinted that this move could be implemented on a wider scale. "I was telling the secretary-general that now for Constitution benches, let us have an interpreter so that the hearings are understood by all. This is the first time a court-appointed interpreter appears here," CJI Chandrachud said. .The suggestion was welcomed by Senior Advocate Menaka Guruswamy who commented, "This is truly historic and momentous. It shows the diversity in a true sense in this court.".CJI Chandrachud also urged advocate Sunny to argue matters before the top court since the process of having interpreters has begun."Sarah, wanted to ask you that since we have started the process now ... Hope this was understandable ... Our goal is to accommodate everyone in this Court. You must now start arguing your own matters before us now," CJI Chandrachud said. "Yes sir, it was very helpful, she says," replied the court-appointed interpreter on behalf of advocate Sunny. .Yesterday marked the first time in the Supreme Court's history when it directed the appointment of an interpreter at its own expense to make hearings more accessible to a deaf lawyer. Registrar Vivek Saxena passed the order directing the registry officials to take necessary steps in this regard.The Registrar Court was hearing an application moved through advocate Sanchita Ain for the appointment of an interpreter for advocate Sunny.Sunny had earlier appeared before the Court with her own interpreter on September 22..Read interview with advocate Sarah Sunny here.