What Are The 'Complex' Urdu Words That Delhi Police Have Been Asked Not To Use?

In a circular, dated April 11, the Commissioner of Delhi Police has asked the police personnel to use simpler words while registering FIR/chargesheet and avoid using complex Urdu/Persian words like 'Mujrim', 'Ilzaam', 'Intezaam', and 'Dastakhat' among others.

The circular, accessed by BOOM, is in accordance with an order from the Delhi High Court in 2019 which stated that the FIR should be in the words of the complainant and overly complex words, that may require the use of a dictionary to understand its meaning should be avoided.

According to the 14-page circular, after the Delhi High Court's order, a list of common Urdu/Persian words with their simple Hindi/English translation was prepared and sent to the Deputy Commissioners of Police of all districts and Investigation Units on November 20, 2019, to make the Investigating Officers / Duty Officers aware of the words that are not to be used while registering FIRs.

"Despite issuing the above instructions, it has been observed that the compliance of the above instructions is not satisfactory. While registering the FIR as well as preparing the daily indictment list, charge sheet etc. the archaic Urdu/Persian words are still being used by the Investigating Officer," the circular said.

The recent circular lists a total of 383 common Urdu/Persian words/phrases along with their translation into simple Hindi/English words.

Here are some of the words present in the list:

Ohda — rank

Gair Kanooni — illegal

Ikbal — confession

Ilzaam — charge

Guzaarish — request

Giroh — gangs

Tehrir — article

Talab — summon

Taluk — relation

Tameel — compliance

Dastavez — document

Halaat — condition

Fehrist — list

Riha — acquit

Mehfuz —safe

Nateeja — result

Nazarband — confine/detain

Some other words mentioned in the list include chashmadid, zaahir, fizool, mazrub, maveshi, vaardaat, shinaakht, shahaadat, arz, mumkin, tameel, najaayaz, aitraaz, khwaish, parvana, gila, wajib, bari and mukaam.

The circular, signed by the Commissioner of Delhi Police Sanjay Arora, also states that compliance with the circular should be monitored by the supervisory officers not only at the police station level but also at the district level. "Non-compliance with the above instructions will be viewed seriously and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken," the circular added.