Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the additional transport commissioner to remain present before the court on Thursday. The court was hearing a petition on safety of school children in school buses when it came to know that the transport department had allowed vehicles with less than 12 seats to ferry children.
The court asked why if there were specific rules framed for school buses, such modifications had been brought in by the state government.
A division bench, of Justices Naresh Patil and Girish Kulkarni, was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) United Forum, seeking directions to the state government to ensure proper implementation of sch-ool bus safety norms as laid down by the Centre in the Motor Vehicles Act, 2012.
The petition stated that despite guidelines being formulated and school buses being defined under the Act, the state had been issuing permits to vehicles with less than 12+1 seating capacity.
At last hearing, the court directed the state to take action against private school bus owners who were not following safety measures prescribed by the state government.
