When the Honourable High Court takes cognizance of a newspaper report, registers the said report as a Suo Motu writ petition and issues notices to the government, asking it to respond to points raised in the report, it is a healthy sign of democracy at work.
Thus when the High Court of Bombay at Goa, has done precisely that to the Herald campaign for the safety of our children travelling in school buses and other forms of transport, we at Herald see it as a sign that when one pillar of democracy doesn’t carry out its functions, other pillars like the press and the judiciary step in to course correct. While there is an opinion against too much of judicial intervention, the call for judicial intervention becomes not just desirable but mandatory when governments do not follow Supreme Court guidelines or even notify rules such as the Goa School Bus Rules, which were drafted by an Amicus Curiae of the Court Adv MS Sonak.
Herald’s campaign for the implementation of rules to govern the manner in which our little children are ferried to school emerged from observing them on their way to school and back. Packed like sardines, when they can hardly breathe, carried in vehicles which are unsafe, and with no safety measures like basic first aid kits or fire extinguishers, school buses, Maruti vans and auto-rickshaws are potential coffins. Sadly even the Calvim bus tragedy which killed four children in 2012, which led to the same High Court taking suo motu cognizance, hasn’t led to the government notifying the rules of school transport safety which it made public in July 2013.The government then set up a committee for the implementation of these rules consisting of Director of Transport – Member Secretary; Gurunath Kelekar (MARG) – Convenor; Adv Subhash Sawant – Member; Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Panjim – Member; and Collector, North Goa District, Panjim – Member. Under the rules, vehicle owners had to register with the transport department and fulfill requirements laid down by the department.
The transport director Arun Dessai, who still holds the charge had said then. “All vehicles will have a specific colour and will have to display the signboard at a prominent place, owners will have to make special provisions for schoolbags, and buses will need to have additional steps so that children have no difficulty in entering the bus.” These turned out to be hollow words.
He said that the Transport department was also planning to conduct a survey to find out how many vehicles were involved in ferrying students to schools. The transport director also said that the rules would also fix the vehicle’s capacity. In addition, the department was in the process of reviewing the Goa State Bus Replacement Subsidy scheme 2001 to fix the age of stage carrier and public transport vehicles at 15 years.
None of these rules, framed under central government’s Motor Vehicles Act have been notified. Reading Herald’s report of September 2, the Court immediately took suo motu cognisance and issued notices to the government the very next day (September 3) and it said, “Children are being transported to schools in a very hazardous manner, without taking into consideration the recommendations and guidelines issued by the Apex Court.” The worried Court observed that such situations “can lead to suffocation and affect the health and safety of children whilst being transported to schools”.
Herald, commends the Honourable High Court for its sensitivity in stepping in so that the safety of our children and the peace of mind of mind of so many parents is not compromised. Herald will keep this campaign going till the desired objective of safety for our school going children is reached.
