'When lawyers argue in Hindi, judges do not pay attention to them and English has become a status symbol,' he added.

Moreover, Article 348 of the constitution provides for arguing court cases in English as well as regional languages, Aggarwal pointed out.

District and Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal had a few months back issued a circular and made it clear to subordinate judges that they must gauge the court employees' proficiency in Hindi and the use of the language in their work. In fact, lower courts have an Hindi Implementation Centre, specially created for helping with the use of the language in courts.

Hindi is being used in the high courts of Rajasthan, Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh, but not in the national capital, according to the lawyers' union.