The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) had approached the SC earlier this year against the order.The BMC will stop imposing fines on shops and business establishments for not putting up Marathi signboards after the Supreme Court on Friday directed that no coercive action should be taken against retailers till December 18.
In February, the government had passed a resolution at the state assembly to amend the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, mandating that signboards be put up on shops and commercial establishments displaying the names of the establishments in Marathi.
The order also stated that the font size of the Marathi alphabets should be bigger and bolder than the font size of any other language used in the signboard. The BMC had given till September 30 to put up Marathi signboards, following which it had started taking action against the establishments that violated the norms.
The civic officials have inspected around 12,000 shops, of which around 9,400 had put up signboards in Marathi. The remaining 2,600-odd shops were issued notices for failing to comply to the norms.
The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) had approached the SC earlier this year against the order. Viren Shah, FRTWA presiden said that their hardwork has paid off.
When contacted, Sanjog Kabare, deputy municipal commissioner (Specials), said: “We will follow the court order and not take any action till the given date. The next course of action will be decided only after the court gives its final ruling.”