Supreme Court reserves judgment in Gujrat school van case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday reserved its verdict in the Gujrat school van (suo moto) case, Geo News reported.

A three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary heard the case in which 18 students were killed after a school van in Gujarat caught fire owing to a gas leakage.

Counselor of Oil and Gas Regulation Authority (OGRA) told the court that he had written a letter to federal government to restrict public transport using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), adding that the public protection couldn’t be ensured without taking this step.

The Chief Justice remarked that why would those who get their palms greased sitting at home inspect the vehicles, adding all the children were equal so at least refrain from issuing ‘death warrants’.

According to experts the officials of Vehicle Inspection and Certification System (VICS) after taking bribes issue fitness certificates to unfit vehicles against bribes, sometimes without even looking at them

He further said that this business of death would thrive unless strict laws were in place against such practices.