Know how crowded Mumbai local trains are? K'taka HC asks petitioners against Shakti Scheme
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has permitted the withdrawal of a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the 'Shakti' scheme, which offers free bus travel for women in Karnataka. The court determined that the PIL, filed by three law students, lacked specificity and supporting research.
The students, Ashwin Shankar Bhat, Neha Venkatesh, and Yashika Saravanan, had argued in the PIL that the scheme had led to "chaos, commotions, and unruly behavior at bus stands, impacting children and senior citizens, and causing significant economic losses."
The petition contended that the provision of free travel in state-owned buses was more detrimental than beneficial to women. During the PIL hearing, the bench consisting of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice M G S Kamal questioned the petitioner's counsel about whether bus travel was comfortable for women before the introduction of the 'Shakti' scheme.
The court sought clarification on the locations experiencing overcrowding, whether the scheme was restricted to a particular group, and whether any studies had been conducted on the matter. The bench also inquired whether the PIL aimed to address overcrowding or challenge the entire scheme. Drawing a comparison to Mumbai local trains, the court asked if the petitioners were aware of their crowded nature.
The court advised the petitioners that PILs should be filed with proper preparation, and subsequently, the petitioners' counsel requested permission to withdraw the PIL, which the court granted.
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We will move court again to resist voter deletions: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.
Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
“You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise.
Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process.
The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent.
Criticising the poll panel over the SIR process, she also said, "We will fight legally to get the names included on the list as per the Constitution. If people cannot cast their votes, what is the need to frame the tribunal? And then you are saying that the list has been frozen. What is this? We will challenge it and try to understand it."
Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the TMC supremo accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and offering money to woo voters.
Banerjee also charged the Election Commission with intimidating people over the phone.
“It (EC) is working at the behest of the BJP. It is calling people over the telephone to threaten and intimidate them,” she claimed.
Later, while speaking at a rally in Balagarh in the same district, Banerjee warned that voting for the BJP would effectively mean "giving up fish, meat, and speaking in Bengali".
“People are not allowed to eat eggs, fish, or meat in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The same will happen here if the BJP comes to power," Banerjee claimed.
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