Mumbai taxi-auto drivers oppose mandatory Marathi requirement, move Bombay HC seeking stay on govt notice

Four drivers working with app-based cab aggregators have approached the Bombay High Court against Maharashtra’s requirement that drivers of commercial passenger vehicles demonstrate a working knowledge of Marathi, seeking a stay on the government notification.

The petition is expected to be mentioned before the Chief Justice on Aug 26 for urgent directions. The drivers, through advocate Vivek Shukla, have challenged the requirement on both constitutional and legal grounds.

The plea argues that making Marathi proficiency a condition for commercial passenger vehicle drivers affects their fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

It also questions whether the state government has the authority under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to introduce language proficiency as a requirement for obtaining or retaining a driving licence, badge or permit.

According to the petitioners, the Motor Vehicles Act does not give the state the power to suspend or cancel a driver's badge or impose an additional qualification based on language knowledge. They have therefore sought judicial intervention against the government notification.

The legal challenge comes amid protests by autorickshaw and taxi drivers in Mumbai over the implementation of the requirement.

Drivers staged protests in several parts of the city on Aug 24, with road blockades reported in areas including Kandivali. Some groups also stopped other autorickshaw and cab drivers, including those operating through app-based platforms, from carrying passengers.

The protests have also affected commuters, with reports of passengers facing difficulty finding autos and cabs in parts of Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government has defended the requirement, saying drivers are expected to have only a basic working knowledge of Marathi needed for communicating with passengers and are not required to be proficient in the language.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the requirement was aimed at ensuring that drivers could handle routine interactions with passengers in Marathi and stressed that there was no expectation that they should become experts in the language.

The government had amended the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to introduce the working-knowledge requirement for commercial passenger vehicle drivers. A month-long statewide drive was subsequently launched to assess drivers' Marathi-language skills.

Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had said 1,268 commercial passenger vehicle drivers were issued notices on the first day of the checking drive on Aug 20. Another 1,499 non-Marathi-speaking drivers received notices the following day.

Sarnaik also said drivers who do not demonstrate the required working knowledge would be given a month to acquire the necessary skills. He warned that action could be taken against Regional Transport Office officials who impose penalties before the stipulated period ends.

According to Sarnaik, 1,65,600 non-Marathi-speaking autorickshaw and taxi drivers had attended Marathi classes.

However, some drivers have raised concerns about the manner in which the language assessment is being conducted. Drivers cited in reports said they were prepared to learn Marathi but alleged that some questions asked during RTO checks went beyond what they had been taught during their training.

The assessment is intended to cover practical communication relevant to the profession, including conversations about destinations, fares, routes, meters and CNG stations. The transport department has maintained that the questions are based on the Marathi training provided to drivers.

The implementation has also raised concerns among drivers who said attending language classes could affect their working hours and income.

Regional transport offices have issued notices to drivers who failed to demonstrate the required working knowledge. A total of 331 autorickshaw and taxi drivers had received such notices, including 139 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, according to the report.

The Bombay High Court challenge now puts the dispute over the language requirement before the judiciary, while the government continues to maintain that the measure is intended only to ensure basic communication between commercial passenger vehicle drivers and commuters.