Yamuna Expressway Bus Fire : Supreme Court Seeks Report From Centre, UP On Arrests, Safety Compliance

The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Centre on a plea seeking a series of road safety measures following the death of nine passengers who were charred to death in a sleeper bus fire near Jewar on the Yamuna Expressway during the intervening night of September 23 and 24, 2026.

It has asked the Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh, the Union of India, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to respond on whether the driver and the owner of the bus have been arrested or not. It has also sought information on whether the registered owner had complied with the rules and regulations applied to the double-decker bus.

The matter was considered by a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice KV Viswanathan in S. Rajaseekaran v. Union of India, a 2012 writ petition seeking directions on road safety, on an interlocutory application(IA).

It ordered: "We would like to know what steps have been taken against the driver of the bus concerned, including the registered owner of the bus. Whether they have been arrested so far? Whether the registered owner had complied with all rules and regulations before plying this double-decker bus on road?"

The application seeks a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary on the circumstances surrounding the fire. It has sought information on the cause of the fire, ownership and registration details of the bus, its permit, fitness certificate, insurance and authorised passenger capacity, besides compliance with construction and fire-safety requirements.

The report is also expected to cover any unauthorised alterations to the vehicle, the working condition of emergency exits and safety devices, the challan and violation history of the vehicle, operator and driver, and the response time of the police, fire services, ambulance and expressway authorities. It also seeks details of action taken against those responsible and a time-bound preventive action plan.

Among the other significant reliefs sought is a direction to the Centre and all States and Union Territories to identify passenger-bus drivers against whom five or more traffic offences or contraventions have been recorded within the relevant one-year period and initiate proceedings before the licensing authority in accordance with law.

The applicant has also sought a direction prohibiting transport vehicles having more than five unpaid challans from crossing toll plazas on national highways, State highways and expressways until the dues are cleared. It has proposed integrating the e-challan database with VAHAN and FASTag to implement the measure.

The plea further seeks to prohibit vehicles without valid fitness certificates or functional speed-limiting devices from using national highways and expressways. It has also sought mandatory vehicle location tracking devices (VLTD) and emergency panic buttons in public service vehicles.

The application has asked MoRTH to issue a uniform national checklist for physical inspection of sleeper, two-tier sleeper and double-decker buses. The proposed checklist would cover emergency exits, fire-detection and suppression systems, electrical and air-conditioning wiring, tyres, brakes, approved berth layouts, dangerous cargo and the validity of fitness certificates, permits and insurance.

It has also sought a time-bound, risk-based physical inspection of such buses across the country, with geo-tagged evidence, and suspension of registration or permits of vehicles failing critical safety requirements until the deficiencies are rectified and the buses are recertified.

Other reliefs include framing technical standards for integrating vehicle location tracking devices with speed-limiting systems, route-monitoring systems and smoke and fire detectors, with real-time alerts to command and control centres.

The applicant has also sought mandatory fire-response training for bus crew, pre-departure passenger safety briefings, digital passenger manifests and integration of emergency buttons with the Emergency Response Support System-112.

Further, it has sought directions to highway and expressway authorities to prepare risk-based fire and rescue plans, including deployment of fire tenders, ambulances and rescue equipment, periodic night drills and publication of actual emergency response times. A target response time of 15 minutes has been proposed wherever reasonably achievable.

The plea also seeks a decision on retrofitting or phased withdrawal of older sleeper and double-decker buses, including requirements relating to passenger-compartment fire protection, fire-retardant materials, electrical wiring, battery and fuel isolation and manual door-release mechanisms.

It has further sought mandatory recording of every bus fire on the Electronic Detailed Accident Report (eDAR) portal, with standardised information on the cause, safety systems, casualties and action taken, to be made available through a public dashboard