The High Court has ordered that sleeper buses cannot operate on highways without approval or a route permit from the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).

A bench led by Justice KM Hafizul Alam passed the order on Wednesday (September 9), after hearing a petition filed by the Sleeper Bus Owners’ Association.

Advocate Md Rafiul Islam appeared for the BRTA in court. After the hearing, he told journalists that the association had filed the petition seeking permission to operate sleeper buses on highways.

Explaining the BRTA’s position, the lawyer told the court that Section 40 of the Road Transport Act 2018 sets specific technical specifications for vehicles.

He said operating a vehicle in violation of a design or technical specification approved by the BRTA constitutes a punishable offence under Section 84 of the same law. The offence carries a maximum punishment of three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 3 lakh taka.

The lawyer further said Section 28 of the law prohibits any vehicle from operating on roads without a route permit from the BRTA.

Accepting the BRTA’s position, the court made it clear that only buses authorised by the BRTA can operate on the roads.

As the sleeper buses currently operating in the country do not have technical approval or route permits, they cannot operate on highways, the court said.

The risks posed by sleeper buses with unauthorised designs operating on highways have recently come under renewed scrutiny.

An AC sleeper bus operated by ‘Icon Paribahan’ caught fire while travelling from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka recently.

As passengers became trapped inside, local people quickly came to their aid and broke the bus windows to rescue at least 30 passengers, including children and women, unharmed.

The incident has raised questions in various quarters about the safety measures and emergency exits, or the lack thereof, in sleeper buses built without technical approval.