The Himachal Pradesh High Court has validated the state government rule concerning the age limit of school vehicles. The court upheld the rule banning buses and other vehicles of educational institutions that are 15 years old, while dismissing all related petitions.

Background of the rule

The verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Ajay Mohan Goel and Justice Yogesh Jaswal. On October 12, 2018, the state government had amended the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1999, to add Rule 73-A, which fixed the maximum age of vehicles transporting school children at 15 years.

Following this court ruling, the rule will apply to all educational institutions including nursing and pharmacy colleges alongside regular schools. This amendment was introduced after a school bus accident on April 9, 2018, in Nurpur of Kangra district, which resulted in the deaths of 27 people, including 23 children.