Plea Against Free Bus Travel to Women to be Heard as Writ Petition

A division bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Anil Kumar Jukanti directed the High Court registry to register a PIL petition as a writ petition after it was filed by one A. Harinder Kumar, who was aggrieved by the state government’s decision to provide women free travel in TSRTC buses. The court gave the directions on the ground that the petitioner himself had averred in the affidavit that he is “partly personally interested in



this matter”.

The petitioner stated that although he, his wife and children are enjoying the free ride, they are facing inconvenience due to overcrowding. The Chief Justice bench opined that as the PIL petition has no “public interest”, it was converted into a writ petition. The petitioner seeks a direction to suspend the GO Ms. No. 47 (08-12-2023) through which free travel to women across the state is permitted.