TN Assembly seeks Tamil principal High Court language

The Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on September 3, 2026, calling on the Central government to recognize Tamil as the principal language of the Madras High Court and to facilitate its use in court proceedings. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay moved the resolution, emphasizing that Tamil, the state's official language since 1956, is already used in subordinate courts and tribunals. The resolution cited constitutional provisions, specifically Article 348(2), which allows a state's Governor, with the President's prior consent, to authorize the use of the state's official language in High Court proceedings. It also referenced existing legal frameworks, including Sections 4A and 4B of the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956, and Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, which permit the use of Tamil in evidence recording and allow for judgments, decrees, and orders to be issued in Tamil alongside English in High Courts. Chief Minister Vijay stated that the demand is not to replace English but to grant Tamil equal procedural standing, enabling citizens to understand and participate in judicial processes in their mother tongue.