On 3 September 2026, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly adopted a Government Resolution seeking the use of Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras.
The resolution cites constitutional and statutory provisions supporting the use of Tamil in judicial proceedings and highlights Tamil’s status as both an official and Classical Language, alongside advances in translation and AI technologies.
Key Highlights:
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The resolution, moved by Chief Minister Thiru C. Joseph Vijay, seeks the use of Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras.
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The resolution notes that Tamil has been declared the official language of Tamil Nadu under Section 2 of the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956.
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It states that Sections 4-A and 4-B of the Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956 provide 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.
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The resolution refers to Article 348(2) of the Constitution of India, which enables the Governor of a State, with the previous consent of the President, to authorise the use of the State’s official language in the proceedings of the High Court.
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It also cites Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, which permits 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.
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The resolution highlights Tamil’s rich linguistic and literary heritage, noting that it is spoken by approximately 9 crore people worldwide and about 8 crore people in India.
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The resolution recalls that Tamil was recognised as a Classical Language by the Union Government on 12 October 2004 in recognition of its antiquity, literary tradition, inscriptions and historical evidence.
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It further notes that the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on 6 December 2006 seeking the use of Tamil in the High Court of Madras and forwarded the proposal to the Union Government.
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The resolution records that the then Union Law Minister informed the Rajya Sabha on 2 February 2018 that the proposal had been referred for the views of the Chief Justice of India and that the Full Court of the Supreme Court had not agreed to the proposal, as communicated through a letter dated 16 October 2012.
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According to the Assembly, substantial progress has since been made in the development of legal Tamil, translation systems, e-Courts infrastructure, technology-enabled translation and legal databases.
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The resolution also highlights advancements in Artificial Intelligence technologies, stating that Tamil speech can now be simultaneously rendered and heard in English, thereby facilitating multilingual judicial processes.
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The Assembly has urged the Union Government to recognise Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras and to establish appropriate procedures for petitions, documents and arguments filed or presented in Tamil.
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It has further sought the creation of a framework under which all judgments, decrees and judicial orders of the High Court are made available in Tamil.
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The resolution calls for training in legal Tamil and translation for judges, advocates and court personnel.
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Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously urged the Union Government to take immediate legal and administrative measures to facilitate the use of Tamil as the principal language of the High Court of Madras.
[Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Resolution, dated 3-9-2026]
