Odisha cops can now submit case diaries to courts in Odia

BHUBANESWAR: Police officers, who are not well conversant in English, will now have the option of submitting case diaries, final forms and other investigation-related papers in Odia, to the courts. Until now, the investigating officers were allowed to send case diaries written only in English.
Considering the difficulties faced by many officers in describing the details of investigation in English and of the courts here in dealing with the incorrect use of the language, DGP Abhay issued an order on Saturday, allowing cops to write in their mother tongue.
“Odia being the mother tongue of the majority of officers of Odisha Police, it will be convenient for them to write the case diaries and final forms in Odia. Apart from English, the Odia language is now recognised as one of the court languages. Magistrates are recording the statements of the accused and witnesses in Odia. In some cases, deposition of witnesses is also being recorded in Odia,” read Abhay’s circular, which was accessed by TOI.
The circular further read Odia being the official language as well as the court language of the state, the police officers probing criminal cases are hereby given an option to prepare the papers of investigation in Odia, if they find it advantageous.
The DGP has asked the State Crime Records Bureau’s ADG, Vinaytosh Mishra, to facilitate the writing of case diaries in Odia in the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS).
At present, the complainants are given the liberty to file complaints in the language of their choice. However, the FIR copies generated through the CCTNS are written in English in the state. In many states, almost all the investigation-related papers, including FIRs and case diaries, are written in the regional language.
Several years ago, the state police headquarters had issued a circular, making it mandatory for the investigating officers to send case diaries to the courts in English. The cops were also advised then to write in Odia only in the event of petty and unimportant cases.
“It is good that the cops will have the option to place all facts in Odia. At times, faulty English makes judges angry and weakens the trials technically,” Sidharth Das, a senior lawyer said.
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