Delhi Metro Rail Corporation told the Delhi High Court that it is not in favor of changing the Hindi sign board of the Supreme Court metro station to Supreme Court in Devanagari. Because this will put additional burden on the government treasury.
40 to 45 lakh rupees will be spent- DMRC
The lawyer appearing on behalf of DMRC told the bench of Chief Justice and Justice Tejas Karia that changing the name of just one station would cost around Rs 40 to 45 lakh. He said that not only the sign boards of the station, but also the route map, mobile app and many other places will have to be changed, which will further increase the expenses.
DMRC’s argument in the High Court?
DMRC also argued that if the name of one station is changed, then similar demands may be raised for other stations and many new petitions may be filed. However, the court clearly said that fear of future lawsuits cannot be a basis for rejecting a petition.
Delhi High Court issues notice to DMRC
Delhi High Court has directed DMRC to file a detailed affidavit in this matter. This hearing was being held on the PIL filed by Umesh Sharma. The petitioner says that instead of Supreme Court, Supreme Court should be written on the Hindi sign board. Giving an example, he said that the Hindi name of Central Secretariat metro station is written as Kendriya Sachivalaya.
Reference to Official Languages Act
Citing the Official Language Act, the petitioner said, “All sign boards and name plates in central government offices should be in both Hindi and English and should be written in Hindi Devanagari script.” He also said that on the website of the Supreme Court of India, the name Supreme Court of India is written in Hindi.