Centre Rejects TN Request To Make Tamil Official Language Of Madras High Court
In a notice to the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Centre has reiterated that Tamil cannot be made the official language of the Madras High Court, reports The NewsMinute. The notice, issued on Tuesday (30 January) cites a 2012 Supreme Court order on the matter.
The Tamil Nadu legislative assembly had in 2006, urged the Centre to get the President of India’s ascent to make Tamil the official language of the High Court. The proposal was then rejected with the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs stating that it had been deliberated by the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India.
Similar proposals had been shot down by the apex court in 1997 and 1999. The matter has seen heated debates with lawyers of the the High Court and its bench in Madurai demanding the use of Tamil as its official language.
The Government of India had received a proposal from the State government of Tamil Nadu in 2006 requesting permission to use Tamil language in the proceedings of the High Court of Madras. The proposal was referred to the Chief Justice of India for advice. The Chief Justice of India vide his letter dated 16.10. 2012 intimated that the Full Court of Supreme Court, after due deliberations held on 11.10.2012, decided not to accept the proposal. The Full Court of Supreme Court had adopted similar resolutions earlier on 07. 05.1997 and 15.10.1999. In view of the Full Court decision of the Supreme Court no further action has been taken in the matter.The notice sent by the Centre
All High Courts in India conduct their proceedings in English while lower courts conduct their proceedings in the state’s official language.
The Bombay High Court had in 2017 rejected a second proposal seeking to make Marathi the official language while the Karnataka High Court ruled a proposal to make Kannada the official language as ‘contrary to the Constitution’ in 2012.