The Bombay High Court has ruled as "constitutional" the requirement for prospective subordinate court judges in the state to have sufficient knowledge of Marathi.
A division bench of Justices R M Savant and Revati Mohite Dere, on August 24, had upheld the provisions of Rule 5(3)(d) of the Maharashtra Judicial Service Rules of 2008, which mandates that a candidate must have sufficient knowledge of Marathi so as to enable him or her to speak, read and write the language and translate from it to English and vice versa.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by one Shobhit Gaur, who was shortlisted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) for the post of Civil Judge Junior Division and Judicial Magistrate First Class, but was later rejected as he did not know Marathi.
Gaur, in his petition, sought his rejection order, dated April 9, to be quashed and set aside. He also challenged the rule on the ground that it violated Article 14 of the Constitution.
Gaur said the rule unfairly discriminates between the advocates practising in Maharashtra and those doing so outside the state.
The bench, however, refused to accept the petitioners contention.
"In our view, no fault can be found with the appointing authority coming to the conclusion that the petitioner was unsuitable for appointment," the court said.
The court has said it cannot hold the decision to be "arbitrary or unreasonable" when the petitioner has not satisfied eligibility conditions.
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