PremiumThe Madras High Court directed the Central government officials to follow the provision of the Official Languages Act, 1963 strictly.
The court said that the Centre should reply in the language in which the state government sends the application.
"Once a representation is given in English, it is the duty of the Union government to give the reply in English only," the HC court said.
The statement by Madras HC came on on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Madurai Lok Sabha MP S Venkatesh.
"Tamil Nadu has not set up an examination centre in Pondicherry for the written test to fill 780 vacancies in Group B and Group C. So I sent a letter on October 9 to the Ministry of Home Affairs asking them to set up at least one examination centre in these areas," read the PIL.
"The Minister of State for Home Affairs had sent a reply in a letter written in Hindi on November 9. Thus I could not know what they were saying in it," it added.
As a result, the Bench, comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and M Duraiswamy said, "Answering in Hindi is a violation of the law".
The Bench added that the people of Tamil Nadu have continued to respond in Hindi to letters sent to the Central Government. "This is contrary to constitutional legal rights and the Official Languages Act of 1963," it said.
The Central Government should send letters only in English. It should also order action against officials who violate the rule, the Madras HC bench added.
The bench said that "Mother's tongue is very important. Basic education should be provided in the mother tongue. But at present, the emphasis is on the English way of education. The English language is given more importance in economic terms."
"The government should realise the importance of each language and take appropriate steps for their development," said the Bench.
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