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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 759
ANSWERED ON 05/02/2026
CONDUCT OF COURT PROCEEDINGS IN TAMIL
759 Dr. M. Dhanapal:
Will the Minister of Law and Justice be pleased to state:
(a) whether Government has examined the long-standing demand to permit conduct of
court proceedings in Tamil, particularly in the High Courts and subordinate courts of
Tamil Nadu, in order to improve access to justice for litigants, witnesses and advocates
who are more conversant with the Tamil language;
(b) if so, the details and present status thereof; and
(c) if not, the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF LAW
AND JUSTICE; AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS
(SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL)
(a) to (c) As far as Supreme Court and all High Courts are concerned, Article 348(1)(a)
of the Constitution of India states that all proceedings in these Courts shall be in English
language. However, Article 348 (2) of the Constitution of India provides that the Governor of
a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorize the use of Hindi Language,
or any other language used for any official purposes of the State, in proceedings in the High
Court having its principal seat in that State. Further, Section 7 of the Official Language Act,
1963 states that the Governor of a State may, with the previous consent of the President,
authorize the use of Hindi or the official language of the State, in addition to the English
Language, for the purposes of any judgment, decree or order passed or made by the High Court
1for that State and where any judgment, decree or order is passed or made in any such language
(other than the English Language), it shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in the
English Language issued under the authority of the High Court.
The Cabinet Committee’s decision dated 21.05.1965 has stipulated that consent of the
Hon’ble Chief Justice of India be obtained on any proposal relating to use of a language other
than English in the High Court.
Government of India had received proposal from the Government of Tamil Nadu to
permit use of Tamil in the proceedings of the Madras High Court. The advice of Chief Justice
of India was sought on the proposal as per the Cabinet Committee’s decision taken in 1965 and
the Chief Justice of India vide his D.O. letter dated 16.10.2012 intimated that the Full Court in
its meeting held on 11.10.2012, after due deliberations, decided not to accept the proposal.
Based on another request from the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Government
requested the Chief Justice of India to review the earlier decision in this regard and convey the
consent of the Supreme Court of India in July, 2014. The Chief Justice of India vide his D.O.
letter dated 18.01.2016 conveyed that the Full Court, after extensive deliberations,
unanimously resolved that the proposal could not be accepted.
As far as District and Subordinate Courts are concerned, the provision of Article 235
of the Constitution of India vests the administrative control over these courts with the
concerned High Courts in the respective states.
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