School buses operate with fake registration and expired fitness certificates in Sangrur, says PIL in Punjab & Haryana HC

The petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court claims that transport officials in Sangrur collude with private bus operators to allow unfit and illegally registered school buses to ply, endangering children’s lives and causing revenue loss.

Written by Manraj Grewal Sharma

October 14, 2025 05:46 PM IST

2 min read

The bench has sought a response from the Punjab Government and posted the matter for the next hearing, stating that the matter is "serious".

The Punjab and Haryana High Court division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry on Tuesday issued a notice to Punjab on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition alleging corruption and negligence in the Sangrur transport department, which has allegedly allowed school buses with fake registration numbers, expired fitness certificates, and unpaid taxes to operate unchecked.

The PIL, filed through advocate Chandan Singh Rana, seeks directions for action against the officials concerned and a Vigilance Bureau or CBI investigation into what it terms a “grave and ongoing scandal” endangering schoolchildren and causing revenue loss to the state.

According to the petition, transport officials in Sangrur, “in collusion with private bus operators”, have permitted unfit and fraudulently registered school vehicles to ply despite repeated complaints and documentary evidence submitted between September 2024 and July 2025.

The petitioner cited instances where challans were issued against registration numbers belonging to two-wheelers—such as PB13BS-3263 and PB11BG-5089—that were shown as school buses in official records.

“This glaring fabrication of records indicates collusion by transport officials and shocks the conscience,” the petition states.

Several vehicles are alleged to have operated without valid fitness certificates or payment of taxes for years. Despite multiple representations and reminders over nearly a year, the plea states, no corrective action was taken.

The petition points to false and mechanically issued challans without the verification of vehicle details, including whether the registration number pertains to a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and alleges that no action was taken against school buses using two-wheeler registration numbers.

Story continues below this ad

The failure to recover statutory dues such as road tax and permit and fitness fees, the petitioner adds, reflects “a deeply troubling collapse of governance”, leading to massive revenue leakage and public safety risks.

Alleging “a systemic malaise and an ethical crime against society”, the petitioner urged the court to intervene to ensure accountability and protect schoolchildren’s safety.

The bench has sought a response from the Punjab Government and posted the matter for the next hearing, stating that the matter is “serious”.

From the homepage