New Delhi   

Rajya Sabha MPs from State want Tamil as court language

NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Members from Tamil Nadu on Wednesday demanded that Tamil be made official language of courts, including the High Court, in the State.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, D. Raja (CPI) said that “Tamil should be declared as a language of courts, and it should be accepted in the High Court. The Tamil Nadu government has sent this proposal…all political parties have raised this issue. The issue is pending before the Union Home Ministry...the Centre should make efforts to get the Presidential notification so that Tamil can be used as a court language.” Supporting him, Paul Manoj Pandian (AIADMK) said majority of lawyers in the State were not well versed in English and were deprived of the opportunity to practise in courts in their mother tongue.

“A majority of law students write their examinations in English, and Tamil. A majority of law graduates who are relegated to the lower courts are not able to practice for want of proficiency in English. Therefore, the legal acumen of a majority of lawyers is going waste for the only reason of not knowing English,” he pointed out.

Tiruchi Siva (DMK) said the proposal was sent to the Home Ministry by the State and it was backed by Madras High Court.

He said similar facility had been allowed in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh while the request in this regard from West Bengal was also turned down.

“The Committee of Parliament on Official Language has also recommended that the official language of the State concerned or Hindi shall be used in judgments, decrees and orders. In spite of all these things, the Ministry of Law and Justice has returned the proposal for observation and information,” he added.

M. Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) urged the Centre to take initiative to see that the mother tongues of different States be allowed as court language in respective States so that people could understand what they were hearing through advocates.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bhasha Samman for Punjabi scholar
How many days to go?
A song to set the tone for Games
Games venues to be taken over by security agencies
Inside Haridwar
New initiative by UGC to promote social sciences
India keen to help build Afghan civil infrastructure
Section 144 clamped in Dibrugarh University
Petition on Haj panel polls dismissed
Sansar Chand gets six years in jail
Tribal woman training to be a reporter
New metro corridor to open in September
Study paints a grim picture of socio-environmental impact of the Games
An evening of Kathak
Gujjars plan dharna in Rajasthan
Mother, paramour arrested for daughter's murder
Most wanted nabbed
Panel recommendations to be implemented after case disposal
Rajya Sabha MPs from State want Tamil as court language
In the Capital Today

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu