The Madras High Court on Thursday ordered issue of notice to the State Government on a writ petition seeking to declare various provisions in the newly introduced special rules for regulation and control of school buses as arbitrary and illegal.
A Division Bench, comprising Justices Chitra Venkataraman and R. Karuppiah, said that the notice would be returnable by December 12.
In the petition, the Tamil Nadu Nursery, Primary, Matriculation and Higher Secondary Schools Association, Korattur here, represented by its general secretary K.R. Nandhakumar, stated that provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act and rules already framed applied to public and private vehicles, which included omni buses, stage carriages and vehicles of educational institutions.
The provisions took care of the grant of licence, control over licence suspension, revocation and disqualification. The safety of students travelling in educational institution buses/vans was adequately taken care of.
While so, the impugned rules were published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on September 30. Without considering the objections and suggestions to the draft rules, the authorities had published the rules applicable for school buses.
The association said the new rules were bad. The association members would not be able to operate their buses and vans with such restrictions on driving licences and to comply with the requirement of attendant with conductor’s licence. Conferment of power of testing and inspection of the buses on new committees created is also prima facie illegal.
The new rules were framed on the directions of the High Court, which took suo motu cognisance of the death of a schoolgirl in Chennai after she fell through a hole in the school bus and was run over in July this year.
Keywords: School bus rules, Madras High Court
The need for a special panel to inspect and test school buses must stem
from negligent conduct of these tasks by the existing authority. If
this is indeed so in fact, then it is in the interests of the school
children who ride in these buses that safeety inspections and quality
operation are maintained through testing of the vehicles. It is
unthinkable that a school bus had deteriorated to a point where a child
actually fell to her death through a hole in the floor. Does this not
sound loud alarm bells for the authorities to heed, and for parents to
be seriously concerned about? It is hardly a matter for ligation by the
operators of these vehicles.
Surprised as the Madras HC had directed the TN govt to formulate a rule
to regulate the school vans. If it was already in the Motor Vehicles Act
why then did the court not as the govt to enforce the MV act. In this
case the second ruling has actually shown the Madras HC ruling in poor
light.
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