A PIL was filed in Bombay High Court on Tuesday against the mandatory Marathi language rule for auto, taxi, and cab drivers. The petition challenges the Maharashtra government's August 12 notification, and demands an immediate stay on its implementation, NDTV reported.
The petitioner argues that the language mandate violates drivers' fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. It also stated that the rule is 'ultra vires', as the Motor Vehicles Act (1988), does not prescribe any language condition for obtaining a licence.
The mandate threatens the badges, licenses, and livelihoods of nearly 9.65 lakh migrant drivers across Maharashtra. This comes amid the Maharashtra government's decision to require Marathi proficiency among autorickshaw and taxi drivers.
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had rejected the argument that Mumbai's cosmopolitan character should allow people to communicate in whichever language they choose without knowing Marathi, during an interaction with NDTV Profit last week.
Asked whether people in Mumbai, where multiple languages are spoken, should be free to communicate without being compelled to learn Marathi, Sarnaik was unequivocal: “Bilkul nahi chalega.”
“This is Maharashtra. Mumbai is not outside Maharashtra,” Sarnaik said, arguing that the state's linguistic identity cannot be separated from the city.
The Maharashtra Transport Department has been enforcing a rule requiring autorickshaw and taxi drivers to demonstrate a working knowledge of Marathi. Regional Transport Office (RTO) officials have been conducting checks outside railway stations, malls and prominent taxi stands across the city over the past week.
Drivers found unable to converse in Marathi have reportedly been issued show-cause notices, with some facing suspension of their licences and badges.
More than 2,500 such notices have reportedly been issued across Maharashtra over the past four days, according to a report quoting Mumbai Rickshawmen's Union leader Thampy Kurien. This resulted as a crisis for commuers in Mumbai on Monday as several auto and taxi drivers kept their vehicles off the road amid an ongoing crackdown by the state transport department over mandatory Marathi language proficiency.
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