Private bus owner withdraws court challenge against free travel scheme for women in state

A petition filed against the Vetti Payanam free bus travel scheme for women has been withdrawn in the Madras High Court. The expanded scheme was launched on October 2 by Chief Minister Vijay following the earlier Vidiyal Payanam program from the previous DMK administration. The initiative allows women to travel for free in more than 12,600 buses across the state. Kalamani, a private bus owner from Erode operating on two routes, filed the challenge. The petition stated that the project causes heavy losses to private operators and forces them to quit their trade. It argued that not collecting fares from female passengers violates the constitutional right to equality. The private bus owners federation previously asked the government to pay six thousand crore rupees per year to cover private buses as well, matching the amount the state takes on for scheme beneficiaries, but the government did not accept this demand. The petitioner also argued that no government order has been issued yet since the scheme was launched based on an announcement under rule 110 in the assembly, and asked for an interim stay until the case concluded. During the hearing before Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arulmurugan, Advocate General Vijaynarayan argued that the petitioner only runs buses on two routes in Erode and cannot challenge a state-wide project. The judges observed that the case cannot be treated as a public interest litigation. Following this, the petitioner's side agreed to withdraw the petition, and the bench granted permission to drop the case.

Context

Public interest litigation allows individuals to approach courts for matters affecting the wider public, but courts require petitioners to show sufficient direct standing or a broader public concern. Free travel schemes for women in public transport are policy measures intended to help lower-income commuters and boost female workforce participation. Governments fund these programs through state budgets to reimburse transport corporations for the waived ticket costs.