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Synopsis

A Supreme Court bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, on Friday, issued notice in a plea filed by Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association, against the Maharashtra government's decision to make it mandatory for all shops and establishments within the State to display their signboards in Marathi.

The plea challenges the decision of the Bombay High Court upholding the decision of the government. Appearing for the federation, Gopal Sankaranarayan, Sr. Adv, argued that stones were thrown at certain establishments which did not put up Marathi signboards.

The senior counsel argued that this decision amounts to a breach of personal choice as signboards in other languages are not barred and now, there is a compulsion on the shops to put up Marathi signboards.

The bench, on hearing his submissions, issued notice in the plea and listed it for further consideration in September.

The Maharashtra government amended the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, making it mandatory for all shops and establishments to display signboards of their names in Marathi in Devanagari script. The amendment, further specified that the font for the signboards shall be the same as that of signboards in other languages. The government set May 31, 2022 as the deadline for the same, failing which prosecution will be initiated.

A division bench of Bombay High Court consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Madhav Jamdar while upholding the government’s decision termed it “reasonable” as the display of signboards in other languages is not prohibited. The High Court bench had observed that the rule was more for the convenience of the public at large in the state, whose mother tongue is Marathi.

Case Title: Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association & Anr. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.