Bus seats reserved for women should have 'Reserved for Ladies' sign in bold: J&K High Court

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on August 10 ordered the Transport Commissioner to ensure implementation of mandatory seat reservation and other safety measures for women in public transport buses [Monisa Manzoor Mir V/s Union Territory of J&K].

A bench comprising acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Mohd. Yousuf Wani ordered the Transport Commissioner to ensure that every public transport vehicle has seats reserved for women and such seats are clearly marked as 'Reserved for Ladies' in bold letters.

“The Transport Commissioner shall ensure that, in line with circular No. 3 TC/2025, seats 1 to 12 in large buses and 1 to 9 in mini buses are properly identified and reserved for women. It shall ensure that, each public transport vehicle has in bold letters written on these seats “Reserved for Ladies,” the High Court ordered.

The High Court also directed the J&K Legal Service Authority to conduct awareness programs, particularly involving the drivers and the helpers of public transport, to sensitise them about their role in ensuring that women are earmarked seats in the public transport.

The Court passed the directions on a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocate Monisa Manzoor Mir, which raised concerns over non-implementation of mandatory seat reservation and other safety measures for women in public transport.

The PIL was filed seeking enforcement of existing provisions and administrative directions concerning reservation of seats and safety of women in public transport across Jammu & Kashmir.

The High Court had initially issued notice to the Union Territory on February 20 and sought its response to the concerns raised in the petition.

During the proceedings on August 10, the Court took note of the issues concerning women commuters and issued the detailed directions to the authorities concerned.

The Court also directed the Department of Transport and the Traffic Police to jointly establish an effective mechanism through which women commuters can lodge complaints and obtain redressal of their grievances.

The Court directed that its directions be communicated to the concerned authorities for immediate compliance and ordered them to submit a compliance report on the next date of hearing.

The matter will be heard next on October 6.

Petitioner Monisa Manzoor appeared in person.

Senior Additional Advocate General (AAG), Mohsin S Qadri with Assisting Counsel Maha Majeed appeared for the respondents.

[Read Order]