Marathi rule: HC disposes of plea by cab drivers as state govt grants one-year time to learn language

Mumbai, The Bombay High Court on Saturday disposed of a petition filed by four cab drivers seeking a stay on the Maharashtra government's Marathi language mandate after it was informed about the state's decision to extend the timeline to learn the language by a year.

Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan told a bench of acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad that the government has decided to extend the time given to auto rickshaw and taxi drivers to learn the language by one year.

The high court accepted the statement and disposed of the petition.


Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the timeline extension after a delegation met him on Thursday, halting immediate action against non-Marathi drivers and giving them more time to learn the language.

The public interest litigation (PIL), filed through advocate Vivek Shukla, had said the government notification dated August 12 was violative of the fundamental rights of citizens.

The petitioners - Mohd Kasim Ahmad, Mohd. Tauseef Shaikh, Siyad Ahamad, and Sadik Nasir Ali Khan, had claimed that the rule violates their fundamental rights under Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom to carry on trade and profession) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution and is ultra vires the Motor Vehicles Act, which does not prescribe any language requirement for driving licences.

"The Motor Vehicles Act confers no power upon the State Government to prescribe working knowledge of any language as a qualification for a driver, as a condition of a badge, or as a condition of a permit, and confers no power to suspend or revoke a badge on such a ground," the plea had said.

It added that lakhs of poor and migrant drivers, including themselves, face the imminent threat of suspension of badges and cancellation of permits, due to the implementation of the "working knowledge" of Marathi rule, which they said will affect their livelihoods.

The petition had requested the high court to stay the implementation of the decision.

The BJP-led state government had announced in April that non-Marathi drivers must learn basic Marathi, and set a deadline of August 15 while organising Marathi classes for them.

On August 20, the transport department started issuing notices to commercial passenger vehicle drivers -- mainly autorickshaw and taxi drivers -- for lacking adequate knowledge of Marathi on the first day of statewide checking, triggering panic among thousands of non-native drivers and leading to flash protests.

Transport Minister Sarnaik had said that drivers failing the Marathi test would be given one month to acquire the working knowledge of the language, failing which their badges would be suspended for three months.