The Kerala High Court has directed the State Police Chief to issue necessary directions to all his subordinate officers to avert any law and order problems on account of the rift between the students and the employees of private buses over student concession tickets.
Justice P.V. Kunhikrishnan, while quashing recently the cases registered against three conductors of private buses in Kothamangalam, also observed that it seems that the student concession rate had not been enhanced even after several decades. The value of 50 paise and 1 rupee has changed a lot over the years. But whether the student concession should be enhanced or a not is a policy matter of the government. Student organisations and the government should look into the changed realities. Bus owners have to take this up with the government and Transport department.
The court, however, added that “as long as the student concessions are in force, the owners and the employees of a bus cannot take a discriminative stand against the students while boarding buses, only because they are paying the concession rate”. The court also noted that in almost all bus stands and bus stops, employees of buses prefer other passengers over students. This usually creates a law and order problem at several places.
The cases were registered against conductors under Section 190(2)(violation of the standards prescribed in relation to road safety, control of noise and air-pollution) and Section 196 (driving uninsured vehicle) of Motor Vehicle Act for not allowing the students to board the buses.
The court pointed out that prima facie a conductor of a bus would not come within the purview of the sections. Moreover, the chargesheet did not show that the conductors gave any inducement to drivers of the vehicles to drive the vehicles without taking the students from the bus stand. Therefore, the offences under the section could not be invoked against the conductors.
