The Madras High Court has recently rejected a petition to officially designate Thiru Kural as either the “National Book of India embodying high values and virtues” or the “National Literature of Virtue with Ethics of India.” Thiru Kural, authored by Saint Thiruvalluvar, is a renowned Tamil text composed of succinct couplets addressing various aspects of virtue, wealth, love, and other social and political themes.

The Madurai bench, consisting of Justice R. Subramaniam and Justice Victoria Gowri, dismissed a petition filed by Selva Kumar seeking to declare Thiru Kural as a “National Book of India” or the “National Literature of Virtue with Ethics of India.” The court ruled that such a declaration is a policy decision reserved for the government and not within the court's jurisdiction. The bench also expressed concerns that granting the petition could lead to a situation where every high court might be compelled to issue orders designating various texts as national books, thus opening a Pandora's box.

“Moreover by its nature, our Nation has got several people speaking several languages and in such situation, if the prayer of the petitioner is allowed, it will result in every High Court in the country passing orders for recognizing a particular text or an epic or a book as a National Book of High Values and Virtues of India. We are not for a moment restricting Thirukural to Tamil Nadu alone but at the same time, we do not want to open the Pandoras box, that will lead to complete chaos,” the court said.

Selva Kumar had petitioned the court to instruct the State to officially declare Thiru Kural as the National Book through a Gazette notification. Additionally, he requested that Thiru Kural be translated into all Indian languages and incorporated into the curriculum of all educational institutions under both Union and State governments.

In addition to his primary requests, Selva Kumar sought directions for the State to declare all Sangam period literature as national property of India. He also proposed the establishment of awards in the name of Thiruvalluvar to honor social activities and service promoting the nation. Furthermore, he requested the erection of a statue of Thiruvalluvar near the new parliamentary building, the declaration of Thiruvalluvar as the ethical and spiritual guru of India, and the celebration of his birthday as a national holiday akin to Gandhi Jayanti.

The court, however, dismissed the petition, stating that it could not issue such orders as the matters in question were policy decisions, which fall outside the judiciary's purview.

Counsel for Petitioner: Mr.M.Sri.Vakumar Party in Person

Counsel for Respondents: Mr.K.Govindarajan Deputy Solicitor General of India, Mr.P.Thilakkumar Government Pleader

Case Title: M Selva Kumar v Union of India

Case No: W.P.(MD) No.19007 of 2024