The plea filed by Federation of Retail Traders Association had challenged the amendment to the Rule 35 of the of the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules which mandated a “name board in Marathi”.
A Bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar emphasised in its ruling that using other languages on display boards was not prohibited, and that the rule merely required the name to also be shown in Marathi.
Justice Jamdar clarified that the Rule was for the convenience of the public at large in Maharashtra, whose mother tongue is Marathi.
“Marathi may be the official language of the State government, but it is an undeniably common language and mother tongue of the State. We are mindful that in some parts of the nation, there is a practice of not using any other script other than the local script. That is not the case here. No other language is prohibited or banned here. The distinction sought to be drawn between language and script is an argument of sheer desperation,” the ruling underscored.
Source: Barandbench
