4 days ago
Bombay HC Disposes Marathi Cab Rule Plea After One-Year Extension
Maharashtra said taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers needed working knowledge of Marathi.
Four Uber drivers went to court to challenge this rule.
They said the rule could hurt their jobs and was not allowed under the main motor-vehicle law.
The government originally gave drivers until August 15 to learn the language.
Officials began checking drivers on August 20, which caused worry and protests among some non-Marathi drivers.
The government then gave drivers one more year to learn Marathi.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the extension after meeting a drivers’ delegation.
The Bombay High Court accepted this update and ended the case.
The court also noted that people with a personal interest in a case generally cannot bring it as a public interest litigation.
The Bombay High Court disposed of a PIL by four Mumbai-based Uber drivers challenging Maharashtra’s Marathi-language requirement.
The state government told the court it had extended the time for taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers to learn Marathi by one year.
The petitioners argued the rule violated constitutional rights and was not authorized by the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The government had set an August 15 deadline and began issuing notices during statewide checks on August 20.
The court accepted the government’s statement and closed the petition without deciding the challenge on its merits.
- Who
- Four Mumbai-based Uber drivers challenged the Maharashtra government’s Marathi requirement; the state was represented by Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan.
- What
- The Bombay High Court disposed of a PIL challenging compulsory working knowledge of Marathi for taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers after the state extended the learning period by one year.
- Where
- The Bombay High Court in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
- When
- The court disposed of the petition on August 29; the state announced the extension after a delegation met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.
- Why
- The petitioners said the requirement violated Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and exceeded the state’s powers under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
Cab Drivers and Petitioners
Maharashtra Government
Legal authority
Cab Drivers and Petitioners
The drivers argued that the Motor Vehicles Act does not authorize the state to require language knowledge for a licence, badge or permit, or to suspend or revoke a badge on that basis.
Maharashtra Government
The government implemented the Marathi requirement and organized classes and testing for commercial passenger-vehicle drivers.
Impact on livelihoods
Cab Drivers and Petitioners
The petitioners said the rule threatened the livelihoods of poor and migrant drivers through possible badge suspensions and permit cancellations.
Maharashtra Government
The government extended the learning period by one year, halting immediate action against non-Marathi drivers and giving them more time to comply.
Court case
Cab Drivers and Petitioners
The petitioners sought a stay on implementation of the Marathi requirement.
Maharashtra Government
After being informed of the extension, the court accepted the government’s statement and disposed of the petition.
Key facts
- Court
- Bombay High Court
- Bench
- Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam A Ankhad
- Petitioners
- Four app-based cab drivers working for Uber
- Language deadline
- The original deadline was August 15; the government later granted one additional year
- Notification
- The challenged state notification was dated August 12
- Enforcement
- Statewide checking began on August 20, with notices issued to some commercial passenger-vehicle drivers
- Potential penalty
- Drivers failing the Marathi test were to receive one month to learn the language, after which badges could be suspended for three months
Quotes
The petitioners’ plea
A legal petition filed by four cab drivers challenging Maharashtra’s Marathi language requirement
“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.”
theprint.in
Sources
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