When a representation is given in English, it is the duty of the Union government to give the reply only in English, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has observed. It has directed the Centre to strictly follow the provisions of the Official Languages Act and Rules.
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A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and M. Duraiswamy on Thursday observed that under Article 350 of the Constitution a person was entitled to submit representation to an authority in any language used in India. One could understand the importance of languages as States were reorganised based on language. Importance should be given to the mother tongue, the judges said.
Many languages in India were in existence for over thousand years. Therefore, governments should take steps to preserve and develop languages, the judges said. The court was hearing a petition filed in 2020 by Madurai Member of Parliament Su. Venkatesan.
The MP had sought a direction to the Centre to ensure that all communications between the Centre and Tamil Nadu should only be in English. He was upset over a reply sent to him in Hindi by a Union Minister of State.
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Mr. Venkatesan had sought a reply from the Centre as to why there were no examination centres in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the recruitment of paramedical staff in the CRPF. He said he was shocked to receive the reply in Hindi, which he did not understand.
The Centre had informed the court that the communication was inadvertently sent in Hindi. There would not be any violation of the Official Languages Act and Rules in the future, it submitted. Taking note of the submission, the court directed the Union government to strictly follow the provisions of the Official Languages Act and Rules.