The Madras High Court has thrown out a writ petition which questioned whether Tamil Nadu's 'Vettri Payanam' scheme is constitutionally valid. From 2 October 2026, it lets about 84.32 lakh women ride free every day on 12,695 government buses. The petitioner said limiting free travel to government buses breached Article 14 (Right to Equality) by upsetting a level playing field in bus transport, and relied on the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to argue fares must be collected. The court noted he attacked only the Assembly announcement under Rule 110 and the related press release, not the later Government Order.