Lucknow, Oct. 6 -- Days after the fatal Greater Noida sleeper-bus fire triggered judicial scrutiny of safety compliance, the Uttar Pradesh transport department has tightened checks on sleeper buses at both the registration and fitness stages. In two orders issued on October 1, Transport Commissioner Ashutosh Niranjan directed registration authorities to ensure compliance with the Automotive Industry Standard (AIS)-119 before registering sleeper buses. Separately, the state's 40 operational Automated Testing Stations (ATS) have been told to verify the same standards before issuing fitness certificates to such buses. The directions come after a sleeper bus caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida in late September, killing nine passengers. The incident led to proceedings before the Allahabad high court and Supreme Court, with questions being raised over bus safety, fitness, permits and compliance with prescribed standards. The transport department's orders, however, do not specifically cite the Greater Noida incident. They refer to its review of road accidents involving sleeper buses, noting deaths and serious injuries and stressing the need to ensure compliance with technical and safety requirements. AIS-119 prescribes technical and safety requirements for sleeper buses. The department said the standards are periodically revised and directed registration officials to follow the applicable provisions. The ATS order covers buses already in operation. Operators have been instructed to verify AIS-119 compliance before issuing the Form-38 fitness certificate, while motor vehicle inspectors have been given similar directions....