Kerala HC dismisses PIL against Priyadarshini free bus scheme, directs government to safeguard passenger safety

The petitioners filed a Public Interest Litigation before the Kerala High Court alleging that buses operated under the Government of Kerala’s “Priyadarshini Bus Scheme,” which provides free travel facilities to women, were overcrowded and that such overcrowding had resulted in accidents.

The petitioners relied principally on several online news reports and representations made to the Transport Minister and authorities.

The State, the Transport Commissioner, and the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation opposed the petition.

The Division Bench heard the matter at the admission stage and found that the allegation linking the accidents to overcrowding was unsupported by corroborative material.

Whether the Public Interest Litigation alleging that overcrowding under the Priyadarshini Bus Scheme had caused accidents was supported by sufficient material warranting judicial intervention.

Whether, notwithstanding dismissal of the PIL, the Government should be directed to ensure the safety of passengers travelling in the buses.

A Public Interest Litigation cannot be entertained on the basis of speculative or unsubstantiated allegations and the petitioner must place credible, corroborative material before the Court to establish the asserted public injury.

The Government’s continuing obligation to adequately safeguard the safety of passengers using public transport.

No specific statutory provision or judicial precedent was cited in the judgment.

The Court characterised the petition as speculative litigation intended to derail the Priyadarshini Bus Scheme.

Although accidents were alleged, the materials placed before the Court did not establish that any accident had occurred because of overcrowding; the Court observed that an accident may have resulted from other causes.

In the absence of corroborative evidence connecting overcrowding with the alleged accidents, the threshold for entertaining the PIL was not met.

Nevertheless, recognising the public-safety dimension of the allegations, the Court directed the Government to ensure adequate passenger safety.

The Court nevertheless directed the Government to ensure that the safety of passengers travelling in the buses was adequately safeguarded.