Kerala HC stays KSRTC's decision to reduce concession on ticket prices for CBSE school students

The petition asked for the revocation of section 4 of the memorandum and a directive to the KSRTC to make sure that students boarding their buses are not subjected to discrimination because of the educational institution they are studying.  

The Kerala High Court has ordered the state road transport corporation to postpone for a month a decision it made to reduce the concession cost for CBSE school students and to hold the management of those institutions responsible for paying 35% of the ticket price. The High Court suspended the application of clause 4 of the KSRTC's February 27 memorandum for one month after finding that the petitioner association of managers of CBSE schools laid out a prima facie case for an interim order.

In its February 27 memorandum, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) specified that, for self-financing colleges, unaided schools, and recognised schools, students would be responsible for paying 35% of the ticket fare, the institution's management would cover 35%, and only a 30% concession would be granted.

In addition, the court sent a notice to the Kerala government and the KSRTC, both of which were represented by attorney Deepu Thankan, seeking a response to the petition's claims by the next hearing date of August 9. According to the petitioner group, the memorandum "classifies students depending on the schools in which they study and offers varying rates of concessions," in its argument. Such an arbitrary and discriminatory categorisation of the students travelling in the same bus is unacceptable. This is in addition to the fact that in accordance with paragraph 4 of the agreement, the management of CBSE/ICSE schools is now responsible for covering 35% of the cost of bus tickets for its students.

The petition argues that "the third respondent (KSRTC) has no power to impose such a restriction on the management of CBSE/ICSE schools." According to the petitioner association, students attending government and aided schools will receive full concessions under the agreement regardless of their parents' wealth.