Driver was trained, driven EV buses for 728kms: Court

MUMBAI: A court ruled that Kurla bus driver Sanjay More was properly trained, disputing police claims, and granted bail to two executives linked to the incident.

MUMBAI: In the Kurla West BEST bus accident which occurred on December 9, 2024, the sessions court recently issued an order challenging prior claims made by Kurla police that the driver of the bus, who lost control of the wheel and thereafter ran amok on the busy street, was not adequately trained to drive an electric bus.

Driver was trained, driven EV buses for 728kms: Court

Contrary to police’s claims that the driver Sanjay More, arrested following the mishap that killed nine people and left 42 injured, the court observed that More had undergone the requisite training and had in fact driven electric buses for around 728 kms, including on the route where the accident occurred. After making the observation, the court granted anticipatory bail to two executives of private firms -- Ramesh Katigandla, senior manager of EVEY Trans (MUM) Private Limited, and Ram Suryawanshi, managing director of Morya Trans India Private Limited -- who had hired and trained More.

The order was issued by additional sessions judge Satyanarayanan Navander, on February 17; its copy was made available on Wednesday, which HT has seen.

“There are no specific legal provisions prescribing additional or specialized training for electric bus drivers beyond the stipulated one-week programme. Furthermore, the driver (More) had been in service since 21.11.2024 and had operated electric buses for 728 kilometers before the accident, including on the same route,” observed the court, adding that the police’s claim that the driver lacked training had no merit.

Kurla police first brought up the driver’s lack of experience of driving automatic electric buses without proper training by the wet lease operators EVEY Trans Pvt Ltd, which had subcontracted the task of manpower acquisition to Morya Trans India Private Limited, on February 12. When the two companies were mentioned in the chargesheet, apprehending arrest Katigandla and Suryawanshi had approached the sessions court for pre-arrest bail.

On February 17, advocate Suvarna Vast argued on their behalf stating they “were service providers working under a contractual agreement and no criminal liability could be attributed to them as the buses and drivers were provided by them in compliance with the agreement and training was also imparted as according to terms”.

Additional public prosecutor, advocate Sukhdev, representing the police opposed the plea, contending that the failure of the contractors to ensure proper training, and assessing his physical and mental fitness contributed to the incident. The court, however, granted them pre-arrest bail after noticing that there was no evidence to suggest that they had any intention to commit the offence alongside the driver. “At most, any lapse in training could constitute negligence under civil law but does not attract criminal liability under penal law,” the court said while granting them protection from arrest.