Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopts resolution urging Centre to make Tamil principal language of Madras High Court

The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Thursday (September 3, 2026) unanimously adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay urging the Centre to recognise Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras and take necessary action to facilitate its use.The resolution said the Constitution of India, while upholding the federal principle and recognising the multilingual and multicultural character of the country, provided various legal avenues for States to use their respective official languages.What the resolution saidIt said Tamil had been declared the official language of the State under Section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956. Sections 4-A and 4-B of the Act provided legal recognition for recording evidence in Tamil and for issuing judgments, decrees, and orders in Tamil in civil and criminal courts, tribunals, rent courts, and revenue courts functioning under the High Court, it said.Article 348(2) of the Constitution provided a mechanism under which the Governor of a State, with the previous consent of the President of India, could authorise the use of the official language of the State in the proceedings of the High Court, the resolution said.Further, Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, provided for the use of a State’s official language, in addition to English, in judgments, decrees, and orders of the High Court, subject to authorisation by the Governor with the previous consent of the President.The resolution described Tamil as one of the world’s ancient languages, with a grammar and literary heritage spanning several millennia, and noted that it continued to be spoken as a living language. Tamil was spoken by approximately 9 crore people worldwide and about 8 crore people in India. In recognition of its antiquity, continuous literary tradition, inscriptions and historical evidence, Tamil was recognised as a Classical Language by the Union government on October 12, 2004.2006 resolutionThe resolution recalled the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on December 6, 2006, seeking the use of Tamil in the High Court of Madras and had forwarded it to the Union government.The resolution also referred to a statement made by the then Union Law Minister in the Rajya Sabha on February 2, 2018, that the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal had been referred for the views of the Chief Justice of India. According to a letter dated October 16, 2012, the Full Court of the Supreme Court of India had not agreed to the proposal, it said.The resolution said significant advancements had since been made in legal Tamil, translation, e-Courts, technology-enabled translation and legal databases. Artificial Intelligence technologies had also advanced to the extent that speech in Tamil could be simultaneously rendered and heard in English.In the present context, the resolution said, this matter needs to be reconsidered in keeping with the current technological developments. Therefore, the Assembly urged the Union government to recognise Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras and establish appropriate procedures for petitions, documents and arguments filed or presented in Tamil.Training in legal TamilIt also urged the Centre to create a framework under which all judgments, decrees, and judicial orders delivered by the High Court would be made available in Tamil; provide training in legal Tamil and translation for judges, advocates and court personnel; and take all necessary legal measures forthwith on the proposals to be forwarded by the Governor under Article 348(2) of the Constitution and Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963.The Chief Minister said the resolution was not against any language but was intended to make Tamil the principal language of the High Court of Madras.DMK’s measuresDMK MLA S. Regupathy listed out several measures taken by the DMK to make Tamil the principal language of the High Court of Madras. He said it was former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi who took steps to make Tamil the Classical Language. Former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Supreme Court judges regarding this matter. He urged the State government to prepare legal lexicons in Tamil.When the Speaker asked AIADMK MLA Thalavai Sundaram to speak on the resolution, another AIADMK MLA C. Ve. Shanmugam demanded he be given the opportunity to speak as he had served as the Law Minister. The Speaker allowed Mr. Shanmugam to speak after Mr. Sundaram. Both the AIADMK members listed out several measures taken during the tenure of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.Mr. Shanmugam urged the State government to take measures to change the name of the High Court of Madras to the High Court of Tamil Nadu. All political parties supported the resolution.