The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday told the Bombay High Court that it has extended till September the deadline given to shops and other establishments to put up signboards in Marathi Devanagari script. A division bench, headed by Justice R D Dhanuka, was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association challenging the validity of the earlier deadline of May 31 to change the language, font size and order of the language on signboards.
The BMC’s advocate Dhruti Kapadia informed the court that the civic body has granted an extension and the deadline is now September 2022. Advocate Vishal Thadani, who represents the petitioners, told the court that shops and establishments will comply with the directions within the extended time period.
The bench then disposed of the petition. The newly added requirements for changing signboards were prescribed by the BMC under section 36A of the Maharashtra Shops & Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act. The petitioners had stated that the amendment issued did not prescribe for a fixed time period. However, through newspaper advertisements and notices issued to the establishments, the BMC had fixed a deadline of May 31, the plea stated, adding that members of the association were ready and willing to change the signboards. The newly introduced norms will require huge expenses and labour to carry out the changes, the establishment owners had earlier stated.
The failure to abide by the requirement within the deadline will attract a penalty, which could go as high as Rs 5,000, the petitioners had said, seeking an extension of six months.
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