Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has scrapped the state government’s February 2016 circular that had mandated the knowledge of Marathi language as an eligibility condition for auto-rickshaw drivers seeking regional transport office (RTO) permits.
The high court also directed the state to set up a grievance redressal mechanism for auto-rickshaw passengers to complaint against drivers within three months.
Setting aside the circular with immediate effect, the HC clarified that those who did not apply for the permit after reading about the mandatory eligibility condition on knowledge of Marathi can now apply for the permit.
The HC has kept the matter for further hearing on March 3 and asked state to submit an action-taken report. The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, terming the HC order “insensitive” towards Marathi-speaking people, have appealed to the state government to challenge it in Supreme Court.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Anuja Prabhu-desai was hearing a petition filed by various auto-rickshaw unions of Mumbai that challenged the state’s circular.
