"It is unfortunate that in such a serious matter, despite the assurances given by the Advocate General to produce before us the draft rules without seeking any further adjournment till date the draft rules have not been produced before us," the court said in its order.
A bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice A Arumughaswamy refused to grant more time as sought by Advocate General A Navaneethakrishnan who said the draft rules were awaiting Cabinet approval.
In the wake of the July 25 death S Sruthi, a class II student of a private school who was crushed under the wheels of her school bus after she fell through a hole on its floor, the court had initiated suo motu proceedings and directed the government to frame rules fixing norms for running school buses meant for children.
"It has been brought to our notice that after the incident, which is the subject matter of this writ petition, five more accidents involving death of school-going children have taken place. It is high time that the draft rules must be produced before this Court," the Chief Justice said and posted the matter to September 3.
The court which had earlier directed the appearance of officials allegedly responsible for the tragedy, dispensed with it after the government informed that the bus owner, driver, cleaner, school correspondent (administrator), and a Motor Vehicle inspector had been arrested.
