Tamil Nadu Assembly Unanimously Backs Tamil As Principal Language Of Madras High Court

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to allow Tamil as the principal language of the Madras High Court, reviving a long-standing demand for the use of the state’s official language in judicial proceedings.

Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay moved the resolution, stressing that the demand was not against any language and was in keeping with India’s federal and multilingual character. The resolution called on the Union government to take “immediate and necessary action” to facilitate the use of Tamil as the principal language of the High Court.

The resolution was supported by legislators across party lines, including members of the opposition DMK. Speaker JCD Prabhakar later announced that it had been adopted unanimously.

What Does The Resolution Seek?

The resolution highlighted Tamil’s status as a classical language, its ancient grammatical and literary heritage and advances in Tamil legal terminology. It also pointed to technology-enabled translation facilities as making the greater use of Tamil in the High Court more feasible.

It called for a framework under which all judgments, decrees and judicial orders delivered by the Madras High Court are made available in Tamil.

During the debate, former AIADMK minister C Ve Shanmugam urged that the Madras High Court itself be renamed the Tamil Nadu High Court. DMK leader EV Velu also backed the demand.

Shanmugam alleged a “north-south” divide, pointing out that Hindi is permitted in the High Courts of states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, while Tamil has not received similar approval in the Madras High Court.

DMK MLA S Regupathy recalled that former Chief Minister and party patriarch M Karunanidhi had previously initiated efforts to introduce Tamil in the High Court. He said resolutions had been adopted twice during DMK governments on the issue.

Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar, however, said Thursday’s resolution was the first to specifically seek principal-language status for Tamil in the High Court.

What Does The Constitution Say About Language In High Courts?

Article 348(1)(a) of the Constitution provides that proceedings in the Supreme Court and every High Court shall be conducted in English.

However, the Constitution allows the Governor of a state, with the previous consent of the President, to authorise the use of Hindi or another language used for official purposes of the state in proceedings of the High Court having its principal seat in that state.

The resolution cited this constitutional provision while urging the Centre to facilitate the use of Tamil in the Madras High Court.

There is also an additional procedural hurdle. A Cabinet Committee decision dated May 21, 1965, stipulated that the consent of the Chief Justice of India should be obtained for proposals seeking the use of a language other than English in a High Court.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly’s resolution will therefore require action at the Union level before Tamil can be formally introduced as the principal language of proceedings in the Madras High Court.