The Hindu : New Delhi News : Supreme Court rejects PIL petition seeking compensation

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Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007
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New Delhi

Supreme Court rejects PIL petition seeking compensation

J. Venkatesan

Student inconvenienced by non-availability of transport on bandh day

He reached school 20 km from his residence by foot to write exam

“There is no fundamental right to provide transport to a citizen”

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed at the admission stage a public interest litigation petition filed by a school student for a direction to suitably compensate him for the inconvenience caused to him due to non-availability of transport services on October 1 on account of a bandh in Tamil Nadu.

Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, heading a three-judge Bench, told counsel “In what way your fundamental right is affected. There is no fundamental right to provide transport facility to a citizen. We can’t entertain such petitions.”

Counsel said that the petitioner who had to write an examination on that day reached his school 20 km from his residence by foot and he had to return walking another 20 km and thus he was put to a lot of inconvenience and mental agony.

The Bench, including Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice J.M. Panchal, however, rejected the petition observing “If you want, you can take recourse to civil remedy.”

P. Krishnakumar, a minor, through his father A. Palanisamy of Coimbatore said that since there was no bus service, he was put to great hardship and this led to ill health.

He alleged that transport services were not operated due to the callousness on the part of the respondents, including the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary and the Transport Secretary, who had facilitated the bandh.

He sought a direction to them to grant suitable compensation for causing inconvenience to him on that day.

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