Top News

Marathi Language: The issue of making knowledge of Marathi language mandatory for auto and taxi drivers in Maharashtra has taken a step forward in the court, but the controversy is not completely over. Bombay High Court has disposed of the PIL filed in this regard. However, the additional one year extension given to the drivers by the government now seems to be the cause of a new legal dispute.

This PIL was filed by advocate Vivek Shukla on behalf of Mohammad Qasim Ahmed. During the hearing, the Transport Department of Maharashtra Government told the court that auto-taxi drivers have been given one year’s additional time to learn Marathi language. After the government put this matter before the court, the High Court disposed of the petition.

Questions raised on statement in media

During the hearing, petitioner’s lawyer Vivek Shukla raised questions on the media statement given earlier by the government. He said that when the matter is pending in the court, the petition cannot be disposed of merely on the basis of the statement given in the media, he clarified that the government’s stand should be officially recorded before the court and it should also be mentioned in the court order.

After this, the court asked the additional government lawyer to take clear instructions from the government. The hearing was stopped for some time. Later, the additional government lawyer recorded the official statement before the court on behalf of the government.

Protest even on one year extension

During this, Marathi Ekikaran Samiti presented its stand regarding linguistic rights in Maharashtra. The committee also expressed disagreement with the government’s decision in which drivers have been given one year’s additional time to learn Marathi. The committee says that there should be no further delay in implementing the requirement of learning Marathi language.

The matter will reach court again next week

Marathi Ekikaran Samiti is now preparing to challenge the one year extension given by the government. The committee will present its arguments before the court next week. In such a situation, a PIL may have been settled, but the legal battle regarding the mandatory use of Marathi language and additional extension for auto-taxi drivers may continue.