Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has supported the adoption of the double-language policy in high courts. He was speaking at Sattakadir’s (a law journal) silver jubilee and awards function held at Royal Meridien in Guindy, Chennai on Saturday where he was the guest of honour. The award function also had a few panel discussions on its agenda.
“During the course of the day, I noticed that there will be discussions on three important topics. One is state official language and additional language for Indian High Court. I support this. I totally support this. Even our President propagated that and told all the judges who were present, he pressurised that at least you adopt it,” he said. The court language across the country currently is English.
In 2006, the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly passed a resolution to push the central government to make Tamil the official language of the Madras High Court. This proposal was forwarded to the Chief Justice of India for advice. The Chief Justice in 2012 intimated that the matter was discussed in a Full Court with all the judges of the court and was eventually rejected by them. This was confirmed by the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice PP Chaudhary in his answer to AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa in February 2018 in Parliament.
Proposals to make Tamil the official language were rejected earlier by the Supreme Court in 1997 and 1999 following Full Court deliberations then as well.
CPI leader R Nallakannu also spoke at an indefinite fast organised by a group of six advocates and three activists on the matter in 2017, saying that a parliamentary committee had observed that judicial consultation is not required to make a state language as the official language of the respective high court.