TN Assembly Passes Resolution for Tamil in High Court

The Tamil Nadu Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Union Government to enable Tamil as the principal language of the Madras High Court. Moving the resolution, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay cited the *Tamil Nadu Official Language Act, 1956*, under which Tamil is already the state's official language, and highlighted provisions allowing evidence to be recorded in Tamil across civil, criminal, tribunal and revenue courts functioning under the High Court.

The Chief Minister referred to *Article 348(2)* of the Constitution, which allows the Governor, with the President's consent, to authorise the use of a state's official language in High Court proceedings. The resolution stressed that progress in legal Tamil, translation technology, e-courts and AI-enabled simultaneous interpretation between Tamil and English strengthens the case for such a shift.

It also called for training judges, advocates and court staff in legal Tamil and translation, and urged the Governor to forward appropriate proposals under *Section 7* of the *Official Languages Act, 1963*. Members across parties backed the move, saying it would help ordinary litigants understand proceedings concerning their own cases.