Marathi mandate in Maharashtra ‘targeted at migrant drivers’: Petition in HC

The petitioners said more than 70% of about 200,000 autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai come from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Four app-based cab drivers have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, challenging the Maharashtra transport department’s notification dated August 12, 2026, mandating a “working knowledge of Marathi language” for autorickshaw, taxi and app-based cab drivers. According to the notification, non-compliance will lead to suspension and eventually to the cancellation of their permits or badges.

The state transport department on August 12 amended the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to allow for action against drivers who do not meet the Marathi-language requirement.(Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

The state transport department on August 12 amended the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, to allow for action against drivers who do not meet the Marathi-language requirement. The amendment clarifies the requirement of a practical knowledge of Marathi for drivers and permit holders of autorickshaws, taxis and app-based cabs.

The PIL, filed through advocate Vivek Shukla, contends that the notification violates fundamental rights – Article 14 (right to equality), Articles 19(1)(d) and 19(1)(e) (right to free movement and residence across the country, Article 19 (1) (g) (right to practise any profession) and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

The state government’s notification is therefore ultra vires Sections 8 and 9 (grant of a learner’s licence), and Sections 27 and 28 (rule-making powers to the central and state governments) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the PIL states.

Referring to the scale of the notification as “enormous”, the plea states that lakhs of drivers remain exposed to notices, suspension and cancellation. “Driving is a profession like any other profession, and every profession requires a licence issued by some government department or statutory authority. To the best of the knowledge of the petitioners, the state has not prescribed the working knowledge of Marathi as a condition for any other profession. Only the drivers have been made to face this test. There is no logic in this. It is arbitrary and unreasonable,” the plea points out.

Infographic on what the petition says

The petitioners also underlined that the enforcement is “targeted at migrant drivers” as more than 70% of about 200,000 autorickshaw drivers in Mumbai come from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, while the government has now directed the verification of their domicile certificates and police inquiries into whether they have actually resided in Maharashtra for 15 years. Citizens of India who move to Maharashtra to earn their bread are being treated as outsiders in their own country, they said.

Seeking an immediate stay on the notification, the PIL clarifies that the drivers do not oppose the promotion of Marathi. However, it said, “love for a language cannot be enforced by snatching away the licence and the livelihood of the poorest workers”. It states that about 965,000 permit and badge holders in Maharashtra face notices, suspension and permanent revocation of badges and permits.

“For a daily earner, even a single day without the badge means hunger for his family. The injury is immediate, continuing and irreparable, and it falls on the poorest section of society. The public at large also suffers, because lakhs of autos and taxis going off the road will cripple public transport in Mumbai and in the state,” the plea added.

Advocate Shukla said he will mention the PIL for urgent hearing before a bench of acting chief justice Ravindra Ghuge and justice Gautam Ankhad this week.