The Supreme Court recently took a strong stance against the issue of incorrect and misleading translations in legal documents submitted before it. During a case concerning the employment of a teacher, the Court expressed frustration over the poor quality of translations, particularly a significant error where "reinstated" was wrongly translated as "re-establishment."
A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Aravind Kumar was reviewing a tribunal's 1999 order regarding the teacher’s reinstatement. Upon reading the translated version, the justices found that the document made no sense due to incorrect translation, prompting Justice Kumar to make a scathing remark on the Advocates-on-Record (AoRs). He stated that such errors compromise the integrity of court proceedings and must be dealt with strictly.
"This is your translation? Poor translation. You can dump it in the Supreme Court whatever you want and get away with it. We don’t want your apologies, madam. We have repeatedly stated that this translation issue must stop. Who will take responsibility for this? We will pass a judicial order," Justice Kumar remarked in court.
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Advocates-on-Record Held Responsible for Mistranslations
Justice Kumar questioned the responsibility of AoRs, as they are expected to certify documents submitted in the Court. Expressing serious concerns, he directed that Vipin Nair, President of the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA), be called to court to address the matter.
When Nair arrived, he was asked to read the mistranslated document. He informed the Court that earlier, there was an official Supreme Court scheme for translations, which was later discontinued. He admitted that the lack of “good quality translators” has created an infrastructure issue, which has resulted in poor translations. He also pointed out that the Delhi High Court has a dedicated pool of translators, whereas other High Courts lack such facilities.
However, Justice Kumar dismissed this reasoning, stating that it is ultimately the responsibility of lawyers who sign the vakalatnama to ensure accurate translations.
"Delhi may be a pampered High Court, but many other High Courts do not have official translators. It is the responsibility of the lawyers certifying the documents to ensure their accuracy. In government cases, officials translating documents must put their seal and signature confirming it as a true translated copy. Small mistakes can happen, but major errors like this misrepresent the facts of a case."
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Justice Maheshwari further stressed that relying solely on machine translations is inadequate, as they often lack accuracy. He emphasized that a manual review is essential to maintain the integrity of legal proceedings.
In response, Nair assured the Court that the SCAORA would prioritize finding solutions to improve translation accuracy.
"We will take it up on the highest priority," Nair stated.
The Supreme Court then passed an order allowing the AoR to submit the original tribunal order along with its official translated copy. The Court also officially noted that it had called Nair to discuss the issue of document mistranslation and expected urgent corrective measures from the SCAORA.
