The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on a plea seeking direction to reconsider its decision to withdraw bus services to private schools in the national capital.

A division bench presided over by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla was hearing the plea challenging the decision of the DTC, which had been providing its services to schools in Delhi for years stating there was no justified reason now for discontinuing the service to schools.

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During the course of the hearing, the bench took note of the hardships faced by the students due to the decision of the corporation.

Directing DTC to file its counter affidavit in the matter within four weeks, the bench posted the matter for August 3.

The Civil Writ Petition in the nature of Public Interest Litigation filed through Advocates Robin Raju, Deepa Joseph and Blessan Mathews highlighted the media reports that parents have formed an association to express their displeasure to concerned authorities by the decision to discontinue DTC bus services to schools.

Petitioner Baba Alexander claimed to be a founder of a child welfare organisation and said he is deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of children due to the decision of the respondents which was informed to parents last month by many schools.

From the perspective of the safety of the child; the decision of DTC is one that causes anxiety to parents. Furthermore, the said decision will also increase the financial hardship of parents as they would have to pay more in the name of transportation charges during these precarious times when Covid-19 which is still around us, he said.

The petitioner said that the DTC’s decision to withdraw bus services to the schools has compelled the people to opt for private vehicles. It will aggravate traffic congestion on the city roads. There are already reports that since the unlock phase began in March 2022, the traffic situation in Delhi is even worse than what it was prior to Covid. The decision to withdraw bus services to schools will thereby increase vehicular pollution and make the air quality worse, the plea said.

Further, the plea said in the context of Article 21, which secures the right to life, and in which the Supreme Court has included the right to clean air, prayed for directions to the respondents to immediately reconsider its decision to withdraw the bus services to schools in Delhi.