The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to consider a representation made by a public interest litigant, and ascertain if it would be possible to make it mandatory for all private schools to only purchase buses that had bodies built by builders authorised by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).
Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy issued the direction while disposing of the PIL petition filed by D. Selvam, a resident of Pallipalayam in Erode district, who insisted that the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) should not register school buses built by unauthorised agencies, in view of ensuring the safety of children.
The petitioner’s counsel, Naveen Kumar Murthy, brought it to the notice of the court that several incidents of small schoolchildren losing their lives due to accidents such as falling down from holes on the floor of their school buses had been reported in many places, and therefore, it was necessary to ensure their safety.
