Verbatim text
provisions of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwiseprovides—
(a) all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in
every High Court,Official languageor languages of aState.
Official language
for communicationbetween one Stateand another orbetween a Stateand the Union.
Language to be
used in theSupreme Court andin the High Courtsand for Acts, Bills,etc.Special provision
relating to languagespoken by a sectionof the populationof a State.THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(Part XVII. —Official Language.—Arts. 344—348.)214
(b) the authoritative texts—
(i) of all Bills to be introduced or amendments
thereto to be moved in either House of Parliamentor in the House or either House of the Legislatureof a State,
(ii) of all Acts passed by Parliament or the
Legislature of a State and of all Ordinancespromulgated by the President or the Governor
1***
of a State, and
(iii) of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws
issued under this Constitution or under any lawmade by Parliament or the Legislature of a State,
shall be in the English language.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause ( a) of
clause (1), the Governor
1*** of a State may, with the
previous consent of the President, authorise the use of theHindi language, or any other language used for any officialpurposes of the State, in proceedings in the High Courthaving its principal seat in that State:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to
any judgment, decree or order passed or made by suchHigh Court.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause ( b) of
clause (1), where the Legislature of a State has prescribedany language other than the English language for use inBills introduced in, or Acts passed by, the Legislature ofthe State or in Ordinances promulgated by the Governor
1*** of the State or in any order, rule, regulation or
bye-law referred to in paragraph ( iii) of that sub-clause,
a translation of the same in the English languagepublished under the authority of the Governor
1*** of the
State in the Official Gazette of that State shall be deemedto be the authoritative text thereof in the English languageunder this article.
1The words “or Rajpramukh” omitted by the Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act,
1956, s. 29 and Sch.THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
(Part XVII. —Official Language.—Art. 348.)215
What this means
- The index files this text under article 348 of the Constitution of India.
- The index files it under the chapter heading “CHAPTER I.—L ANGUAGE OF THE UNION”.
- The passage runs to about 363 words.
The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“(1) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.
The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.
No rights vocabulary from our fixed word list appears in this passage, so no plain-language reading is offered for it.
This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.
How to cite this
Constitution of India, article 348, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/d92c15a4-dc34-4f39-8eba-2f51c35620b8 (accessed 25 October 2026).
Canonical URL: https://www.portablelawyer.app/provision/d92c15a4-dc34-4f39-8eba-2f51c35620b8
Accessed 25 October 2026.
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