Rajasthan judges hit roads, 100+ luxury buses seized in safety drive
Synopsis
In a rare move, Rajasthan judges have left their courtrooms to personally oversee road safety enforcement — seizing over 100 luxury sleeper buses and forcing thousands of operators to workshops. The trigger: back-to-back fatal bus fires, including a Dausa blaze on 1 July that killed eight passengers trapped with no safe exit.
Key Takeaways
Over 100 luxury sleeper buses have been seized across 12 districts of Rajasthan under a month-long RALSA enforcement drive.
The campaign was launched following fatal bus fires in Dausa ( 1 July , 8 dead) and Phalodi ( November 2025 , 24+ dead).
Violations include single emergency exits, illegal sleeper modifications, oversized luggage compartments, and breach of AIS-119 (Rev.1): 2016 norms.
An FIR was registered after a bus with a Rajasthan registration number was found to be registered in Madhya Pradesh .
Authorities expect 80 per cent of non-compliant buses to be rectified within a month.
The drive is being monitored by judicial officers under directions from Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Hariom Atri .
Rajasthan's Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RALSA) has launched an unprecedented month-long enforcement drive that has led to the seizure of over 100 luxury sleeper buses across the state for violating mandatory safety norms. The campaign, active across 12 districts, has prompted thousands of bus operators to rush their vehicles to workshops for rectification to comply with transport safety standards.
Why Judges Stepped Off the Bench
The drive was triggered by a string of fatal accidents involving luxury sleeper buses, including a fire in Dausa on 1 July in which eight passengers were charred to death, and an earlier blaze in Phalodi in November 2025 that killed over two dozen people. In both incidents, passengers were reportedly trapped inside burning vehicles with no safe escape route.
Responding to these tragedies, judicial officers in Rajasthan have stepped out of courtrooms and onto roads to personally monitor enforcement. The campaign operates under the directions of RALSA Member Secretary Justice Hariom Atri and was launched on the orders of Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
'Hariom Atri and other colleagues were deeply pained by incidents where passengers were charred to death because they had no safe escape route. That is why judicial officers themselves are monitoring the enforcement drive,' said Praveen Kumar Jeenwal, Secretary, Jaipur District Legal Services Authority.
Key Violations Uncovered
Surprise inspections across Jaipur, Jodhpur, and other districts revealed widespread non-compliance. Buses were found operating with only a single emergency exit, illegally modified sleeper layouts, oversized luggage compartments carved out of passenger space, excessive vehicle overhang, and roof-mounted luggage carriers — all in breach of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and AIS-119 (Rev.1): 2016 safety norms.
The inspections also exposed registration irregularities. A bus displaying a Rajasthan registration number was found to be actually registered in Madhya Pradesh, resulting in an FIR. Two additional buses registered in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were seized for operating in Rajasthan in violation of applicable norms.
Operators Scramble to Comply
'Many buses had been illegally extended or modified to create additional luggage space, compromising passenger safety. Operators are now bringing them back in line with transport norms. We expect nearly 80 per cent of the buses to be rectified within a month,' Jeenwal said.
Authorities have instructed operators to first ensure passengers reach their destinations safely before reporting seized vehicles to police stations — a measure aimed at minimising disruption to travellers.
What Comes Next
The drive is set to continue across all 12 districts for the remainder of the month. Judicial officers have expressed confidence that the majority of non-compliant buses will be brought up to standard within the campaign period. The exercise marks a rare instance of the judiciary directly overseeing road-safety enforcement — a model that could set a precedent for other states grappling with similar sleeper bus safety failures.
Point of View
But the harder question is what happens after the month-long drive ends — whether a permanent enforcement mechanism replaces this judicial intervention, or whether operators quietly revert once the spotlight moves.
NationPress
14 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Rajasthan judges conducting road safety inspections?
Rajasthan judges are personally overseeing road inspections because a series of fatal luxury sleeper bus fires — including a blaze in Dausa on 1 July 2025 that killed eight people and an earlier fire in Phalodi in November 2025 that killed over two dozen — exposed systemic failures in routine enforcement. The RALSA launched the drive under the directions of Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma to directly address non-compliance.
How many buses have been seized in the Rajasthan safety drive?
Over 100 luxury sleeper buses have been seized across 12 districts of Rajasthan as part of the month-long RALSA enforcement campaign. The seized vehicles were found in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and AIS-119 (Rev.1): 2016 safety norms.
What violations were found in the seized buses?
Inspections found buses operating with only one emergency exit, illegally modified sleeper layouts, oversized luggage compartments created by reducing passenger space, excessive vehicle overhang, and roof-mounted luggage carriers. Registration irregularities were also uncovered, including a bus displaying a Rajasthan number but registered in Madhya Pradesh.
What happens to bus operators whose vehicles were seized?
Operators of seized buses have been instructed to first ensure passengers reach their destinations before reporting the vehicles to police stations. They are also required to bring their buses into compliance with approved dimensions and safety standards at authorised workshops before the vehicles can be released.
When is the Rajasthan bus safety drive expected to conclude?
The drive is a month-long campaign running across 12 districts of Rajasthan. Authorities expect approximately 80 per cent of non-compliant buses to be rectified within that period. The campaign will continue until all targeted districts have been covered.
