The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : "Tamil can be courtroom language"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 11, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

"Tamil can be courtroom language"

Special Correspondent

Laws should be framed on the basis of natural justice, says Anbazhagan

ADVOCATING TAMIL: Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan (second from left) handing over the first copy of `Judicial Institutions in Tamil Nadu-A Historical View' to Dato S. Samy Vellu, Minister of Works, Government of Malaysia, in Chennai on Sunday. A.R. L akshmanan, judge, Supreme Court (third from left), and S.K. Krishnan, judge, Madras High Court, are also seen in the picture. — PHOTO: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

CHENNAI: Tamil, the language of an ancient culture and classical literature, is in every way qualified to become the language of the courtroom too, speakers at a seminar on `Legal Tamil' said on Sunday.

The classical Tamil literature was full of instances that dealt with the administration of justice and its cultural practices safeguarded various tenets of justice, Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan said.

Domination

Domination by higher castes had corrupted the course of justice practised in ancient Tamil Nadu but some of the basic precepts were still followed in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, he said, releasing the book, `Judicial Institutions in Tamil Nadu-A Historical View,' authored by V.R.S Sampath, editor, Sattakadir, a journal on law and human rights.

Laws should be framed on the basis of natural justice, safeguard the principles of justice and act as a deterrent against crime. Tamil, if it became the language of courtroom, had the potential to promote justice and ensure its propagation, he said.

Investor confidence in a country improved in proportion to the success of its judicial administration system. India, in general, and Tamil Nadu, in particular, had a climate conducive for foreign investments, said Malaysian Works Minister Dato S. Samy Vellu. India had all the structures in place to protect the rights of investors.

"President can be approached"

Though the Constitution said English was the language of the Supreme Court and High Courts, it would still be possible to make Tamil the legal language if the President could be approached in respect of specific cases, AR. Lakshmanan, judge, Supreme Court of India, said.

In district courts in the State, witness depositions were being recorded and judgements delivered in Tamil. This indicated that the language had the potential to become a courtroom language.

M. Naganathan, vice-chairman, State Planning Commission; P. Nagabooshanam, former vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University; and S.K. Krishnan, judge, Madras High Court, spoke.

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