The Supreme Court Today (Aug 13) took exception to a petition seeking removal of an Urdu signboard of Patur Municipal Council. The signboard displayed the civic body’s name in Urdu along with Marathi. The Court said that Urdu is one of the languages in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution and one should not have problems with Urdu in signboards, particularly in areas where the same is a spoken language.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court expressed its disapproval of a petition that sought the removal of an Urdu signboard displayed by the Patur Municipal Council in Maharashtra. The signboard in question featured the name of the civic body in both Urdu and Marathi.
A Bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah highlighted that Urdu is recognized as one of the languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
The Bench questioned the basis of the petitioner’s objection, noting,
“What is your problem with Urdu? Understand this – it is an Eight Schedule language. The municipal body did not impose it on the whole State; maybe in that region only that particular language is understood.”
This remark underscored the Bench’s view that there should be no issue with the use of Urdu on signboards, especially in regions where the language is commonly spoken.
The case involved an appeal against an April 10 ruling by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, which had upheld the use of languages other than Marathi on municipal signboards.
The High Court ruled that there are no legal restrictions preventing municipal councils from displaying signboards in languages other than the State’s official language, Marathi, alongside it.
Consequently, the High Court had dismissed the original petition.
Media reports indicated that the petitioner had initially sought an order directing the chairperson of the Akola District Marathi Language Committee to take immediate steps to remove the Urdu signboard.
The petitioner had argued before the High Court that the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022, prohibits the use of any language other than Marathi on civic authority signboards.
During the Supreme Court proceedings, the Maharashtra government was granted additional time to file its response and clarify its position on the matter.
The case is scheduled for further hearing on September 9.
CASE TITLE:
[Varshatai vs State of Maharashtra and ors].
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