Maharashtra's cab drivers move Bombay HC over Marathi language rule; seek immediate stay on govt notice

Four cab drivers, who are working with mobile cab aggregator apps, have moved the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government's Marathi language rule.

The state government has announced a month-long statewide drive to assess drivers' Marathi language skills. This comes after Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on August 12 notified the rule that drivers of passenger transport vehicles must have a working knowledge of Marathi to communicate effectively with commuters.

The petition by the cab drivers, which was filed through advocate Vivek Shukla, will be mentioned tomorrow (August 26) before the Chief Justice for urgent directions, Bar and Bench reported. It seeks an immediate stay on the government notification to prevent challenges to nearly 9.65 lakh drivers across Maharashtra.

The plea submitted by the four cab drivers argues that the rule regarding compulsory knowledge of Marathi 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.

It says that the rule is ultra vires the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which does not prescribe any language requirement for driving licences, according to the Bar and Bench report.

Also Read | Taxi drivers failing Marathi test in Maharashtra receive show cause notice, 1-month deadline

“The parent Act (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 petition states. It argues that the language rule “manufactures a new disqualification and a new ground of suspension” which had not been enacted by the Parliament.

Meanwhile, commuters in Mumbai faced problems while travelling as autorickshaw drivers went on a strike to oppose the new rule. Commuters struggled to reach railway stations and their workplaces as autorickshaws refused to ply in Bandra, Kandivali, Govandi, Vakola, Kurla, Andheri and Santacruz, according to an earlier HT report .

After videos circulating on social media showed demonstrations in a few locations in Mumbai, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stepped in to address the issue. Fadnavis said the objective behind the government drive was not to make the drivers experts in the language, but to ensure that they could communicate in the local language for work, PTI news agency reported.

This comes even as regional transport offices across Maharashtra issued notices to 331 autorickshaw and taxi drivers, including 139 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), for failing to demonstrate working knowledge of Marathi, according to the PTI report.

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