Can't change 'Supreme Court' metro station to 'Sarvoch Nyayalaya' in Hindi: DMRC to Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The DMRC on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court it was not in favour of changing the Hindi signage for 'Supreme Court' metro station to 'Sarvoch Nyayalaya' in Devanagari script as it would entail a financial burden on the exchequer.

The counsel for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation submitted before a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia that such an update has an expenditure of Rs 40-45 lakh.

Besides the signage at the station, several other changes in the road maps, mobile applications, etc, would have to be made, she explained.

"It comes as a financial burden. One such change is Rs 40-45 lakh per station... It's a PSU," the counsel submitted.

The DMRC counsel further said changing the name of one station could have a ripple effect, resulting in other similar litigation for other metro stations.

The court responded that an apprehension of multiple litigation could not be a ground to oppose the plea and directed the DMRC to file its affidavit.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Umesh Sharma objecting to the name of the metro station as 'Supreme Court' instead of 'Sarvoch Nyayalaya' for Hindi signage.

In support of his claim, the petitioner had pointed out that the 'Central Secretariat' metro station was 'Kendriya Sachivalaya' in Hindi.

The petitioner earlier submitted that as per the Official Languages Act and its rules, all manuals, signages and name plates in Central government offices ought to be in English and Hindi, and the use of Hindi has to be in Devanagari script.

The petitioner's counsel pointed out that the Supreme Court's Hindi name on its own website was 'Bharat ka Sarvoch Nyayalaya'.

The matter would be heard next in April.