Bus Stops Sans Basic Facilities Violate Right To Dignity, Says HC

Nagpur: Expressing concerns over collapsing civic infrastructure, Nagpur bench of Bombay high court last week held the absence of basic facilities at bus stops is not merely an administrative failure but a violation of citizens' right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.A division bench comprising Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode took suo motu cognisance of newspaper reports highlighting the absence of bus shelters, seating arrangements and passenger amenities at several key locations in Nagpur city, particularly along the busy Medical Square-Krida Square stretch and the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj statue-Besa Road corridor.The court noted that thousands of commuters, including students, senior citizens, office goers, and daily wage workers, are forced to wait on roadsides in extreme summer weather conditions because of civic neglect and poor planning."When citizens are compelled to wait in extreme weather conditions without shelter or seating, the state effectively denies them a life of dignity guaranteed under Article 21," the bench observed. The judges said the continued lack of basic bus stop infrastructure exposed a deeper "failure of constitutional governance".Court also flagged encroachments at Swami Samarth Manewada Road Besa bus stop on Sitabuldi-Besa route, observing vendors and vehicle owners occupied space while commuters were forced to wait elsewhere because the stop itself was poorly located and barely visible. Despite regular anti-encroachment drives in parts of the city, authorities failed to act at the site, the court noted.Referring to the ongoing heatwave conditions in Vidarbha, the bench stressed that bus shelters were not cosmetic urban additions, but essential public infrastructure linked to human dignity and safe mobility.Court relied extensively on Supreme Court rulings in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation versus Nawab Khan Gulab Khan and Chameli Singh vs State of Uttar Pradesh to underline that the right to life includes access to civic amenities, shelter, roads and dignified living conditions."Municipal Corporations, being constitutionally empowered and statutorily obligated, cannot evade responsibility for ensuring minimum standards of public transport infrastructure," the bench said.Instead of issuing notices, judges directed the commissioner to conduct an enquiry and take steps to improve bus stop infra, passenger amenities across city. Nagpur Municipal Corporation has been ordered to submit an action-taken report before HC Registrar (Judicial) within 4 months.