The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a conditional summons to the Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab, over serious safety violations in buses operating under the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, ANI reported from New Delhi on Sunday, November 15. The summons was issued by a Bench presided over by NHRC Member Priyank Kanoongo.

Source: ANI via ApnaMA TV, Nov 15, 2026

Taking serious note of continued non-compliance and the reported Tarn Taran tragedy, the Commission deplored what it called the lackadaisical approach of the authorities and directed the Chief Secretary to appear before it if comprehensive reports are not submitted by the stipulated deadline, the reports said.

What the Chief Secretary must now submit

The Chief Secretary has been directed to submit details of bus inspections, safety compliance, corrective measures, action against non-compliant vehicles and a detailed report on the Tarn Taran accident, according to ANI. Nation Press, reporting the same proceedings, said the Commission recorded that no Action Taken Report had been received from the state government till date: 'No report indicating the inspections conducted, safety deficiencies identified, corrective measures undertaken or accountability fixed has been received from the State Government till date,' the Commission said, as quoted by Nation Press.

Source: Nation Press, Nov 15, 2026

The warnings that came before the crash

The Commission said it has been pursuing passenger bus safety concerns across all states in India for over a year, and had in earlier proceedings flagged recurring fatal accidents involving passenger and sleeper buses, structural deficiencies and violations of CIRT guidelines, calling for urgent preventive measures.

A complaint by the Network for Access to Justice & Multidisciplinary Outreach Foundation had highlighted serious safety concerns in buses deployed under Punjab's Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, including alleged unauthorised structural modifications, obstruction of emergency exits, and deficiencies in fire safety and emergency evacuation arrangements. Those are allegations in a complaint; the Commission has not announced a finding on them. The NHRC had directed the Punjab government to inspect all buses operating under the scheme and immediately withdraw vehicles that did not meet mandatory safety standards, and said the state government failed to demonstrate effective action on those directions.

The NHRC's earlier notice to Punjab - asking the Chief Secretary to inspect the Tirth Yatra buses and report within seven days - was reported in October. Read the earlier NHRC bus-safety report

The Tarn Taran collision - what police said, and why the toll figures differ

Two buses under the same scheme collided in Tarn Taran district on Saturday, November 14, near Naushehra Pannuan. In its own proceedings the NHRC cited four reported deaths and injuries to around 30 people, ANI reported. Later reports from the site put the toll at five people killed and 16 injured. Awaaz Punjab presents both figures with their sources, because the counts were still being reconciled in the reports available on Sunday.

Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba said the accident occurred when a motorcyclist was approaching from the wrong side and one of the bus drivers swerved to avoid hitting him, and another bus coming from the opposite direction collided with it, ANI reported. The SSP said a total of 22 people, including those who died and those injured, were affected; he reported four deaths and 18 people injured, five of them comparatively serious and referred to a hospital in Amritsar, with 13 receiving treatment locally, eight of those with very minor injuries.

Safety of senior citizens is the state's responsibility, Commission says

The Commission reiterated that passenger safety, particularly that of senior citizens and other vulnerable persons, is the direct responsibility of the state and regulatory authorities, ANI reported. Nation Press quoted the Commission as observing that such schemes cannot be implemented at the cost of human life, and that compliance with mandatory vehicle safety standards cannot be reduced to a mere procedural formality.

The Punjab government had not issued a formal response to the NHRC summons in the reports reviewed for this story. What happens next depends on whether the Chief Secretary files the demanded inspection, compliance and accident reports by the Commission's deadline - failing which, under the conditional summons, he will be required to appear before the Commission personally.