MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has disposed of a petition challenging Maharashtra's Marathi language requirement for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers after the state government extended the deadline for learning the language by a year.The petition was filed by four cab drivers who had sought a stay on the implementation of the rule, arguing that it violated their fundamental rights.Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan told a bench comprising acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad on Saturday that the government had decided to give drivers an additional year to acquire working knowledge of Marathi.The court accepted the government's statement and disposed of the petition.Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the extension after a delegation of drivers met him on Thursday. The move means immediate action against non-Marathi-speaking drivers will be put on hold, giving them more time to learn the language.The public interest litigation (PIL), filed through advocate Vivek Shukla, challenged a government notification issued on 12 August, arguing that it violated citizens' fundamental rights.

The petitioners – Mohd Kasim Ahmad, Mohd. Tauseef Shaikh, Siyad Ahamad and Sadik Nasir Ali Khan – said the rule violated their rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.They also argued that 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 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 plea had said.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.They had asked the high court to stay the implementation of the rule.

How the Marathi language rule unfolded

The BJP-led Maharashtra government announced in April that drivers who did not speak Marathi would have to learn the basics of the language.

A deadline of 15 August was set, with Marathi classes also organised for drivers.On 20 August, the transport department began checking commercial passenger vehicle drivers across the state, particularly auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers.Notices were issued to drivers who were found to lack adequate knowledge of Marathi. The action caused concern among thousands of non-native drivers and led to flash protests in some areas.Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik had said drivers who failed the Marathi test would be given one month to acquire working knowledge of the language.Those who failed to meet the requirement within that period would have their badges suspended for three months.The state government's decision to extend the deadline by another year has now brought an immediate legal challenge to the rule to an end.