The Bombay High Court on December 1 took 'suo motu' (on its own) notice of the tardy progress of the Maharashtra government's project to publish the writings and speeches of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

It reflects a "sorry state of affairs", said a division bench of Justices PB Varale and SM Modak. The court took cognisance of a report published in a Marathi newspaper which said the government had not been able to print enough copies of 21 volumes of Ambedkar's literature.