No Marathi Test For Auto, Cab Drivers Yet? Bombay HC Gives Them One More Year

The Bombay High Court has disposed of a petition challenging the requirement for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to learn Marathi, after the state government granted a one-year extension.

Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan told a bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad of the decision on Saturday. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the extension after meeting a delegation of drivers on Thursday.

The move halts immediate action against non-Marathi-speaking drivers, giving them more time to learn the language.

Drivers Challenge Language Rule

Four cab drivers- Mohd Kasim Ahmad, Mohd. Tauseef Shaikh, Siyad Ahamad and Sadik Nasir Ali Khan- filed the petition through Advocate Vivek Shukla. The plea challenged the 12 August government notification and sought to stay its implementation.

The drivers said the regulation violated their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. They argued the requirement was beyond the powers granted to the state under the Motor Vehicles Act, which does not prescribe any language requirement for driving licences.

The plea stated, "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 petitioners said the rule threatened the livelihoods of lakhs of poor and migrant drivers, including themselves, because their badges could be suspended and permits cancelled for failing to demonstrate working knowledge of Marathi.

Timeline Of The Dispute

The BJP-led Maharashtra government announced the language rule in April, setting an initial deadline of 15 August. The government also organised Marathi classes for drivers.

On 20 August, the transport department began checking commercial passenger vehicle drivers across the state, particularly auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers. Transport officials issued notices to drivers who lacked adequate knowledge of Marathi, causing concern among thousands of non-native drivers and sparking flash protests in some areas.

Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had previously said drivers who failed the Marathi test would get one month to acquire working knowledge of the language. Those who failed to meet the requirement within that period would face a three-month suspension of their badges.