Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is set to move a resolution in the state Assembly on Thursday seeking Centre’s approval to recognise Tamil as the principal language of the Madras High Court, official sources said. The House is also expected to discuss the resolution.
The proposed resolution is likely to highlight Tamil’s status as a classical language and its significant development in legal terminology. It will also point to technology-based translation tools that could facilitate the use of Tamil in the High Court. The resolution is expected to seek a mechanism under which all High Court judgments, decrees and judicial orders are made available in Tamil.
According to sources, the resolution to be introduced by Vijay will emphasise Tamil’s status as one of the world’s oldest languages, with a grammatical and literary tradition extending back several thousand years. It will urge the Centre to permit the language’s use in the High Court.
The resolution is also expected to refer to the existing legal provision under which a state’s official language, alongside English, can be used for High Court judgments, provided it is authorised by the Governor and receives the prior consent of the President of India.
It is likely to cite a December 6, 2006 resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly supporting the use of Tamil in the Madras High Court. The resolution was subsequently forwarded to the Union government.
The state government is expected to point out that the Supreme Court did not accept the proposal after the Centre referred the matter to the apex court more than a decade ago.
Overall, the fresh resolution seeks renewed approval for the use of Tamil in the Madras High Court and calls for court judgments, decrees and orders to be made available in the language.
