TN govt renews push for Tamil as Madras HC language, cites 2006 resolution

 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will move a resolution in the state Assembly on Thursday to urge the Centre to recognise Tamil as the principal language of Madras High Court, official sources said.

The government's resolution is set to refer to Tamil's status as a classical language, the significant advancements in legal vocabulary in the Tamil language and it is also expected to cite facilities like technology-enabled translation.

The resolution, to be piloted by CM Vijay will underscore that Tamil is one of the world's ancient languages, possessing a grammatical and literary heritage spanning several millennia while urging the Centre to allow Tamil as the language of the High Court, sources said.

A discussion is likely on the resolution in the Assembly.

The state's official resolution is set to urge the creation of a framework under which all judgments, decrees and judicial orders delivered by the High Court are made available in Tamil.

It is likely to refer to the current legal framework allowing use of the official language of a State, in addition to English, in the judgments of the High Court, subject to the authorisation of the Governor with the previous consent of the President of India.

Also, a reference is likely to the Tamil Nadu Assembly's resolution of December 6, 2006 batting for the use of Tamil in the High Court of Madras, which had been forwarded to the union government.

The government is expected to refer to the Supreme Court not agreeing to the state's proposal on Tamil. Over a decade ago, the apex court had declined to entertain Tamil Nadu's proposal, which was forwarded by the Centre to it.