SC orders stay on BMC action over Marathi signboards

BMC started issuing notices to shops without Marathi signboards on Oct 10. File pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

To the relief of shopkeepers, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered a stay on BMC action against establishments for not putting up Marathi signboards. The stay is valid till December 18 when the next hearing is scheduled.

As per data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, around 20 per cent of the shops are yet to display signboards in Marathi or Devanagari script. In the past 26 days, civic officials visited over 27,000 shops, which is around 5 per cent of the total number of shops in the city, and served notices to around 5,000 of them.

According to the amendment in the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Act, 2022, all shops in the state must display Marathi signboards in Devanagari script. In case there are multiple languages, the Devanagari font should not be smaller than the others. The Act was implemented across the state from May. However, the BMC has extended the deadline three times - May 31, June 30 and September 30. The civic body thereafter gave another 10 days' time to shopkeepers to put up the signboards before starting to issue seven-day notices to them. "

Also read: 153 shops, commercial establishments fined for not displaying Marathi boards

The city has some 5L shops. File pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Meanwhile, the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) challenged the constitutionality of the amendment and requested a stay on BMC action. "The Supreme Court has given a status quo to the action of the BMC till December 18, which is the next hearing date. The BMC cannot take any action against shopkeepers till then," said Viren Shah, president, FRTWA.

Since October 10, BMC teams have visited only 27,180 shops. "Out of it, 22,169 had signboards in Marathi. We served notices to 5,011 shops and establishments who did not have Marathi boards," said an official from the BMC. There are around 5 lakh shops in the city.

As per the act, the fine for violation is R2,000 per staffer of the shop. There is a compounding provision under the Act which states that the BMC can fine the shops and settle the matter if the shops display boards in Marathi without filing court cases.

BMC visits till Nov 4

No. of shops BMC visited 27,180
No. of shops with Marathi boards 22,169
No. of shops without Marathi boards 5,011
Total no. of shops in the city 5,00,000