'Serious Prejudice To Safety Of Passengers': PIL In Calcutta High Court Against Public Buses Plying Without Valid Registration, Fitness Certificate

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Calcutta High Court seeking directions to ensure that State-owned public transport buses are not allowed to operate in the State without proper documentation such as certificate of registration, certificate of fitness, insurance policy and others. 

The PIL filed by petitioner Anindya Sundar Das also made reference to a recent incident wherein after a bus owned by the South Bengal State Transport Corporation met a disastrous fate on May 2 at Kanaidanga crossing in Memari on the NH-19 highway. The speeding bus fell into a ditch after hitting the railing of a bridge injuring seven passengers. The bus bearing registration number WB – 39B/4590 was plying on Karunamoyee (Kolkata) – Asansol route.

The petition averred that the concerned bus was neither having a certificate of fitness or a valid insurance policy. It further stipulated that under Section 56 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 a vehicle must mandatorily have a certificate of fitness. 

"..a Transport vehicle shall not be deemed to be valid to be registered for the purpose of Section 39 unless it carries Certificate of Fitness in such fault containing such particulars and information as may be prescribed by the Central Government", the plea enumerates further. 

Opining that serious prejudice has been caused to the life and safety of the passengers, the plea further stipulated, 

"..the respondent no. 2 being a State Transport Undertaking is under statutory obligation to operate vehicle without all valid documents by securing the safety of the passengers in the vehicle. The petitioner states that the respondent no.2 during the course of operation of the vehicle WB – 39B/4590 having operated the said vehicle without any valid documents had caused serious prejudice to the life and safety of the passengers"

The petitioner further sought directions to ensure that such State-owned public transport buses display in the Board of the respective vehicles documents such as certificate of registration, certificate of fitness, insurance policies including the driving license of the driver to secure the safety of passengers. 

A prayer was also made before the Court to issue directions to the State respondent to submit a status report regarding the compliance of statutory provisions by each State-owned public transport bus plying in the State. 

Case Title: Anindya Sundar Das v. State of West Bengal