Taking cognisance of the recent bus mishap at Dhumakot in Pauri which had killed 48 persons, the High Court has sought replies from the Transport Secretary, State Transport Commissioner, Garhwal and Kumaon Commissioners, Regional Transport Authority Dehradun, Pauri, Almora and Haldwani along with the Deputy Inspector Generals of Garhwal and Kumaon by July 20. The division bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma issued this order.
The Chief Justice took serious cognisance of the case on the basis of media reports and took up the matter in the form of a PIl. It was stated that on July 1, the bus mishap killed 48 of the 61 passengers including 10 children, 16 women and 22 men. Overloading and bad condition of the road are being considered the main reasons for the mishap. It was also observed that carrying 61 persons in a 28-seater bus is akin to inviting mishap as was seen in this incident. The Government system also failed at the time of the mishap with primary treatment also not being facilitated on time. Some time ago, the division bench of justices Rajiv Sharma and lokpal Singh had also issued orders to prevent overloading but no effective measures were taken by the State Government.