Tamil Nadu’s free bus travel scheme for women will continue without an interim stay after the Madras High Court dismissed a petition challenging its implementation on October 5, following the petitioner’s withdrawal of the case.
The petition was filed by Kalamani, a private bus owner from Erode district, against the state’s ‘Vetri Payanam’ scheme. According to the report by Dinamalar, the petitioner had sought an interim suspension of the programme until the legal challenge was decided.
The scheme allows women to travel free on government buses and was expanded across Tamil Nadu. The report said Chief Minister Vijay launched the programme on October 2. The petitioner argued that private bus owners had also sought compensation and the scheme’s extension to private buses, but that the state government had not accepted the demand.
The petition also claimed that no government order had been issued for the programme, despite its announcement by the Chief Minister in the Legislative Assembly. It asked the court to declare the scheme unconstitutional and suspend its operation while the case was pending.
The case was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurgan. During the hearing, the judges questioned how an individual authorised to operate buses on only two routes could challenge a government decision applicable across the state, according to the report.
The bench said the petitioner could contest the decision only in relation to the routes on which he operated buses. It also observed that the challenge appeared to be directed at the announcement made under Rule 110 of the Legislative Assembly rather than at a government order issued under the applicable legal process.
The judges further said that the petition could not be treated as a public interest litigation. They permitted the petitioner to pursue an appropriate legal remedy in accordance with law. The petition was then withdrawn and dismissed by the court.
The order means that the petitioner did not obtain the requested interim stay. It does not, based on the details reported, amount to a final ruling on every legal question concerning the scheme or on the wider demand for compensation from private bus operators.
The case places two parts of Tamil Nadu’s bus system in the same legal frame: the state’s provision of subsidised public transport and the commercial interests of private operators. The court’s observations also limited the immediate dispute to the petitioner’s own operating routes rather than treating it as a state-wide public interest challenge.
The next legal step available to the petitioner will depend on the remedy pursued in relation to the relevant routes and the government decision. The Madras High Court’s dismissal leaves the free travel programme operating while any such further proceedings are considered.
