Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has amended a law to make “working knowledge of Marathi language” mandatory for cab and autorickshaw drivers, with non-compliance potentially leading to suspension or revocation of their driving licences, officials said on Thursday.
The state Transport Department issued a notification, bringing into force the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026 under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The office of state Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik shared the final notification about it.
Under the amended rules, an authorised driver of a motor cab fitted with an electronic meter must have “working knowledge of Marathi language”.
If a driver is found lacking the required knowledge, the licensing authority will issue a notice granting a one month period for him to acquire the knowledge, the notification states.
But if the driver fails to comply within the stipulated period, the licensing authority may, after recording reasons in writing, suspend the authorisation on the driver’s licence for a period not exceeding three months.
In case of continued non-compliance, the authority may revoke the authorisation on the driver’s driving licence. The driver must, however, be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before such action is taken, according to the notification.
The amendment also inserts the words “and working knowledge of Marathi language” after “antecedents” in Rule 4(4) of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The requirement has also been extended to permit holders. Under the amended Rule 78, a permit holder must have working knowledge of Marathi.
Further, while renewing a permit for a motor cab fitted with an electronic meter, the permit holder must have working knowledge of Marathi to the satisfaction of the authority, says the notification.
Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik had earlier said the government would not extend the August 15 deadline for non-Marathi-speaking autorickshaw and taxi drivers to learn Marathi.
“Marathi is the language of Maharashtra, and drivers providing public transport services here should have basic functional knowledge of the language. We have given them sufficient time to learn Marathi. From August 15, functional Marathi will be mandatory for taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers in Maharashtra,” Sarnaik had told PTI Videos.
