President hails SC's effort to provide judgements in 9 vernacular languages

President Ram Nath Kovind Wednesday hailed the Supreme Court's effort to provide judgements in nine vernacular languages saying the issue is "very close to his heart".

"Happy to receive and be introduced to translations of 100 important judgments of the Supreme Court," he said.

"These will now be available in a variety of regional and Indian languages, and accessible to hundreds of millions of our fellow citizens who may not know English," he added.

Kovind also congratulated the apex court Collegium and the government for working together to ensure that the top court is working at its full strength of 31 "able judges".

He was speaking at the inauguration of an additional Supreme Court building which will have record rooms, seminar halls and lawyers' chambers with car parking facilities.

Kovind said the eco-friendly building would increase the infrastructural facilities and help in justice delivery system by providing greater comfort for judges, lawyers and litigants.

Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the apex court has "warded off" various threats to constitutional ethos in the past.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad advocated an All India Judicial Service for recruiting judges in subordinate courts and said that the meritorious and backward classes should get their due share in judiciary.