Summary
The Supreme Court upheld the display of the name of Municipal Council, Patur in Urdu below Marathi on its signboard, holding that the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022 makes Marathi the official language of local authorities but contains no prohibition on using an additional language, particularly one in the Eighth Schedule; the Court also held that after the 2018 amendment of Section 308 of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils Act, 1965 only the Chief Officer can move the Collector against a Council resolution, and observed at length that language belongs to a community and region, not to a religion.
Issues
- Whether the use of Urdu, in addition to Marathi, on the signboard of a Municipal Council building violates the Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022 or any other law.
- Whether an application by a former member of the Municipal Council under Section 308 of the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965, as amended in 2018, was maintainable before the Collector.
- Whether Article 345 of the Constitution permits a State to adopt or permit more than one language for official purposes.
Provisions considered
- Section 3, Maharashtra Local Authorities (Official Languages) Act, 2022Section 3(1) declares Marathi the official language of all local authorities for official purposes and public interface, and sub-section (2) enables the use of English where the subject cannot be properly conveyed in Marathi or the addressee cannot understand it. The Court read the Act as requiring the Council's business to be conducted in Marathi but as containing no prohibition on displaying the Council's name in an additional language, and treated sub-section (2) as recognising that language is a tool of communication. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15, 49)
- Section 308(1), Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965Before the 2018 amendment the Collector could, even suo motu, suspend a Council resolution that was unlawful or likely to cause injury, annoyance or breach of peace; after the amendment the Chief Officer alone must send a resolution contrary to law to the Collector within three days, and the Collector's power can be exercised only on such a reference. The appellant's own application therefore should not have been entertained. (¶¶ 5, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- Article 345, Constitution of IndiaArticle 345 empowers a State legislature to adopt one or more languages in use in the State, or Hindi, for official purposes; following the Constitution Bench in U.P. Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, the Court reiterated that adopting one official language does not exhaust the power and the legislature may designate further languages from time to time, as several States have done with Urdu. (¶¶ 23, 24, 25, 26, 39)
- Eighth Schedule, Constitution of IndiaMarathi and Urdu both appear in the Eighth Schedule and occupy the same position under it; English does not. The Court saw no basis for prohibiting the use of a scheduled language in addition to the official language. (¶¶ 12, 15, 21)
- Articles 120, 210, 343, 348 and 351, Constitution of IndiaCited to show that the constitutional scheme on language is accommodative rather than rigid: Hindi is the Union's official language under Article 343, Article 351 directs its enrichment by assimilating forms and expressions of Hindustani and other scheduled languages, Articles 120 and 210 allow legislators to speak in their mother tongue, and Article 348 makes English the language of the Supreme Court and High Courts even though Urdu words remain in court parlance. (¶¶ 22, 35, 38, 40)
Held
- After the 2018 amendment, Section 308(1) of the 1965 Act can be invoked only when the Chief Officer of the Municipal Council refers a resolution to the Collector as being contrary to the Act, any other law, rules, bye-laws or Government directions; an application by any other person, as here by a former member, should not be entertained. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11)
- The 2022 Act ensures that the business and affairs of a local authority are conducted in Marathi but does not prohibit displaying the Council's name in an additional language alongside Marathi; Section 3(2) is an enabling provision for English and does not operate as an exclusion of every other language. The display of an additional language cannot by itself violate the 2022 Act, and there is no prohibition on the use of Urdu in that Act or in any other provision of law. (¶¶ 14, 15, 49)
- Language is not religion and does not represent religion; it belongs to a community, a region and a people. Urdu, like Marathi and Hindi, is an Indo-Aryan language born in India, and the prejudice against it rests on the misconception that it is alien to the country. (¶¶ 17, 18, 27, 45)
- Under Article 345 a State legislature's power to adopt official languages is not exhausted by adopting one language and may be exercised from time to time, as held by the Constitution Bench in U.P. Hindi Sahitya Sammelan upholding Urdu as a second official language of Uttar Pradesh; many States and Union Territories permit more than one language for official purposes. (¶¶ 24, 25, 26, 39)
- A Municipal Council exists to serve the local community; where residents within its area are familiar with Urdu, there can be no objection to using Urdu in addition to the official language Marathi, at least on the signboard, since the primary purpose of language is effective communication and it should not become a cause of division. (¶¶ 19, 46, 48)
Result
Appeals dismissed; the High Court's order of 10.04.2024 holding that the use of Urdu in addition to Marathi on the Municipal Council's signboard does not violate the 2022 Act affirmed; pending applications disposed of.