CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has adjourned by a week the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA). The petition prays for the consideration of Tamil Nadu’s proposal for the optional use of Tamil, alongside English, in the proceedings of the HC in order to enable the Tamil-speaking litigants to understand, participate and instruct the counsel effectively in their cases.
When the PIL came up for hearing on Monday before the first division bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, advocate R C Paul Kanagaraj, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that a similar petition has also been filed by the secretary of the Madurai Bar Association and it was not listed. The bench adjourned the hearing by a week stating it would hear both the petitions together.
The petition by MHAA secretary S Arivazhagan has challenged the Union Cabinet’s May 21, 1965, decision, which made English the common language of HCs and the SC.
An executive policy cannot restrict the constitutional option expressly available under Article 348 (2) of the Constitution, the PIL said.
It noted that the TN Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on December 6, 2006, and forwarded its proposal with the governor’s recommendation to the centre on the following day. The proposal and the subsequent requests, nevertheless, were never sent for Presidential approval under Article 348 (2) of the Constitution, for reasons best known to the centre, the MHAA said.
It pointed out that a similar resolution was adopted unanimously by the Assembly on September 3, 2026, for making Tamil the language for court proceedings.
For the unversed, Article 348 (2) states that the governor of a state may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of the 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.