Kerala High Court dismisses PIL against free KSRTC bus travel for women, transgender persons

The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to quash the State government's recently introduced "Priyadarshini Scheme" which provides free bus travel to all women and transgender persons in ordinary KSRTC buses [Muhammed Firdouz v. State of Kerala & Ors.]..A Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that called on the Court to quash the Government Order (GO) which introduced the scheme.The Court noted that its power of judicial review is limited when the purpose of a scheme is to enforce the directive principles of state policy. It noted that in this case, the GO specifically mentions that the objective of the policy is to take affirmative action towards the empowerment of women, which falls under the directive principles. "Economic empowerment of women and the protection of women’s rights are integral parts of the constitutional scheme and the Directive Principles of the State Policy as laid out therein. When the State evolves scheme towards materialising such avowed constitutional goals and proceeds to implement them, such policy decisions cannot be subjected to judicial review", the Court said. .The PIL petitioner, one Muhammed Firdouz, challenged the scheme on te ground that it was arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India.He claimed that there was no income criterion, residential qualification, or specifically identified disadvantage that was sought to be remedied by the scheme which would cost the public exchequer approximately ₹2 crores per day or around ₹800 crores per annum."The Impugned GO itself acknowledges the financial impact by creating a 'dedicated cash-transfer mechanism' and directing the KSRTC CMD to develop non-fare revenue sources, which is an admission that the scheme imposes a significant, ongoing burden on a public institution already receiving Rs. 1,500 Crore per year in State support, now burdened with an additional Rs. 800 Crore without any demonstrated operational, social, or constitutional necessity," the petition stated.The petitioner contended Article 15(3), which permits special provisions for women and children, cannot be invoked to justify a blanket subsidy for all women, irrespective of their financial or social backgrounds.Firdouz also pointed out that the scheme was approved on the first cabinet meeting of the newly sworn-in UDF government led by Chief Minister VD Satheesan. This very fact shows that there was no preceding policy study, needs assessment, financial impact analysis, or public consultation, he contended. "A scheme that is born in an election manifesto, announced immediately after swearing-in ceremony, and formalised by a Government Order are all without a single line of policy reasoning and cannot claim the protection of any constitutional provision and stands exposed as a naked exercise of political power at the cost of the public exchequer and in violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens of this State," the PIL stated..The Kerala government on the other hand, argued that similar travel schemes are available in other States and that gender-based affirmative action has the stamp of approval of the Supreme Court of India. .[Read Judgment]