NHRC sternly warns: Unsafe bus designs violate fundamental rights of passengers, directs states to make immediate improvements

The increasing number of bus accidents and fires in the country has raised serious concerns for the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The Commission has issued a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories, clarifying that dangerous design changes being made to public transport buses directly violate passenger safety and their fundamental right to life. According to the Commission, the greatest risk lies in buses where the driver’s cabin is completely separated from the passengers, making communication and rescue extremely difficult in an emergency.

Complaints stated that in several accidents, lack of coordination between drivers and passengers after a fire broke out, making it difficult to save lives. The Commission termed these incidents a direct attack on the right to life guaranteed under Article 21. Based on this, the NHRC took cognizance under Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, and sought a detailed report from the Ministry of Transport and the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) within two weeks.

The investigation conducted by CIRT reveals the gravity of the situation. According to the report, numerous regulations were blatantly violated during the construction of the body of the accident bus. Sleeper buses are prohibited from installing a driver’s partition door, yet it was installed. Furthermore, buses longer than 12 meters are required to have at least five emergency exits, but the bus lacked even this basic feature. Most worryingly, the Fire Detection and Suppression System (FDSS), which was mandatory since 2019 , was not installed on the bus. Certain components, such as sleeper coach sliders and chassis extensions, were added without permission, directly increasing the risk of accidents.

In its report, the CIRT recommended removing partitions, installing mandatory FDSS, regularly inspecting 10-kg fire extinguishers, and ensuring strict adherence to bus body standards. The commission also clearly stated that the October 14th fire incident was the result of gross disregard for regulations and serious negligence. The bus manufacturer, body builder, and fitness certificate issuing officials are all culpable. The commission categorized this as criminal negligence.

The NHRC directed the Ministry of Road Transport to issue advisories to all states to strictly enforce bus safety regulations and to develop a national-level monitoring system to ensure no bus operator or bodybuilder can evade safety standards in the future. All states have been ordered to immediately implement the CIRT’s recommendations, take action against those found guilty, and provide appropriate compensation to victims. States have also been asked to submit action-taken reports within two weeks.

This move makes clear that the unsafe design of buses is no longer just a technical flaw, but a direct human rights issue. The next few weeks will be a test of states’ actions to ensure passenger safety.