Haryana Official Language Act 1969

The Haryana Official Language Act, 1969

Haryana Act 17 of 1969

Received the assent of Governor of Haryana on the 23rd February 1969 and was first published in the Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary) of the 5th March 1969.

An Act to provide for the adoption of Hindi as the first language and Punjabi as the second language to be used for the official purposes of the State of Haryana.

For Statement of Objects and Reasons, See Haryana Government Gazette (Extraordinary), 1969, Page 106.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Haryana in the Twentieth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1- Short title and extent

(1) This Act may be called the Haryana Official Language Act, 1969.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Haryana.

2. Definitions. – In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, –

(a) ‘appointed day’ means the 26th day of January, 1969;

(b) ‘Hindi’ means Hindi in Devnagri script;

(bb) ‘Punjabi’ means Punjabi in Gurmukhi script;

3. Official language for official purposes of State

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, Hindi shall, as from the appointed day, be the first language to be used for all official purpose of the State of Haryana except such purposes as the State Government may, by notification, specify and the language in use for such excepted purposes immediately before the appointed day may be used as official language for such purposes.

(2) The State Government may, by notification, specify that Punjabi shall be the second language to be used for all such official purposes which the State Government may deem fit.

3A. Use of Hindi in Courts and Tribunals.

(1) In all Civil Courts and Criminal Courts in Haryana subordinate to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, all Revenue Courts and Rent Tribunals or any other court or tribunal constituted by the State Government, work shall be done in the Hindi language.

(2) The State Government shall provide the requisite infrastructure and training of staff within six months of the commencement of the Haryana Official Language (Amendment) Act, 2020.

Explanation. – For the purpose of this section, the words ‘Civil Court’ and ‘Criminal Court’ shall have the same meaning as respectively assigned to them in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974).]

4. Language to be used in Bills, etc.

Notwithstanding anything contained in Section 3, Hindi shall, on and from such date as the State Government may by notification appoint in this behalf, be the language to be used –

(a) in all Bills to be introduced or amendments there to be moved in the House of the Legislature of the State;

(b) in all Acts passed by the Legislature of the State;

(d) in all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under the Constitution or under any law for the time being in force in the State :-

Provided that different dates may be appointed in respect of any of the matters referred to in clauses (a), (b), (c) or (d).

4A. Authoritative Hindi texts of State laws.

A translation in Hindi published under the authority of the Governor of the State of Haryana in the Official Gazette,-
(a) of any Haryana Act passed in the English Language, or

(b) of any Punjab Act in force in the State of Haryana, or

(c) of any Ordinance promulgated in the English language by the Governor of Haryana under Article 213 of the Constitution, or

(d) of any order, rule, regulation or bye-law issued in the English language by the Governor of Haryana or by the Governor of Punjab and in force in the State of Haryana, shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in Hindi.]

5. Continuance of use of English language in State Legislature

Unless and until the State Government otherwise directs by notification, the English language may, as from the appointed day continue to be used, in addition to Hindi, for the transaction of business in the Legislature of the State.

6. Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances

Nothing in this Act shall debar any person to submit a representation for the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the State in any of the languages used in the State.

7. Notification to be laid before Legislature.

Every notification made under Section 3, Section 4 or Section 5 shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the House of the State Legislature while it is in Session, and shall be subject to such modifications as the House may make therein during the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following.

8. Repeal

(1) The Punjab Official Language Act, 1960, in its application to the State of Haryana and the Haryana Official Language Ordinance, 1968 (Haryana Ordinance No. 5 of 1968), are hereby repealed.

(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the Haryana Official Language Ordinance, 1968, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act as if this Act had commenced on the 31st October, 1968.