The State Transport Commissioner has been directed to file an affidavit in three weeks
Nagpur: The schools were closed for two years due to Covid-19 pandemic and so were the school buses. They resumed operations after schools reopened this year. The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court, taking note of the safety of students, on Wednesday asked the State Transport Commissioner whether these buses are fit to ply? The court has also asked the Transport Commissioner to file an affidavit in three weeks, according to media reports.
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Mon 20 Oct. 2024
According to the Motor Vehicles Act, it is mandatory for school buses to have fitness certificates to avoid accidents, technical breakdowns and to make students’ travel safe. As the schools have reopened after a long Covid-induced break, roughly 40% students use school buses, 30% opt for school vans and 10% rely on autos for going to school. But countless school buses are found plying without the fitness certificates. This puts the students at grave risk.The High Court has asked the Transport Commissioner to make the stand on this issue clear.
The information sought is on how many school buses are in Maharashtra, how many of them have fitness certificates and how many are running without fitness certificates.
The hearing was held before a division bench comprising Justice Sunil Shukre and Justice Govind Sanap. A student named Veerat Zade (8) from Nagpur was killed under a school bus in 2012. The court has taken suo motu cognisance of this incident and admitted a PIL for strict implementation of the rules for school buses. Adv Firdos Mirza was appointed as amicus curiae.
Meanwhile, the High Court issued many important rulings in this case from time to time. The court also considered the issues such as how many stops and parking spaces were fixed for school buses in Nagpur, whether district level school bus committee meetings were held regularly, and school level school bus committees were set up.
