Right to safe roads is part of Article 21 – systemic negligence + administrative failure = enforceable constitutional obligation.
Where recurring fatal accidents were caused by illegal encroachments, unsafe parking, and infrastructural deficiencies, the Court held that failure of authorities to ensure highway safety constitutes violation of Article 21, and issued mandatory, time-bound directions under Article 142 fixing accountability across all agencies. (Paras 1, 5)
HEADNOTES (Court Style with Para References)
Article 21 – Right to Life – Road Safety – Controlling Principle
The right to life under Article 21 includes the right to safe and secure road infrastructure, and failure of authorities to prevent avoidable road hazards amounts to violation of constitutional obligation. (Para 5)
State Liability – Positive Obligation – Public Safety
The State is under a positive duty to ensure safe passage on highways, including prevention of illegal encroachments, regulation of traffic hazards, and provision of emergency response systems. (Paras 1, 5)
Systemic Negligence – Administrative Failure – Judicial Intervention
Where large-scale fatalities arise from systemic failures such as illegal parking, encroachments, and lack of surveillance, the Court may intervene suo motu and issue binding directions to rectify structural deficiencies. (Para 1)
Article 142 – Continuing Mandamus – Enforcement Framework
The Supreme Court, in exercise of powers under Article 142, can issue comprehensive, multi-agency, time-bound directions to ensure compliance with constitutional mandates relating to public safety. (Para 5)
Duty–Compliance Correlation – Accountability Principle
Where statutory duties relating to highway safety exist, non-compliance resulting in fatalities establishes administrative failure, requiring strict timelines, monitoring mechanisms, and joint responsibility of authorities. (Paras 4–5)
Public Infrastructure – No Defence of Constraints
Pecuniary or administrative constraints cannot be pleaded to justify failure in ensuring safety of human life, as preservation of life is paramount. (Para 5)
ANALYSIS OF FACTS
The Court took suo motu cognizance of two catastrophic road accidents resulting in 34 deaths in Rajasthan and Telangana, identifying illegal encroachments, unsafe parking, and infrastructural lapses as primary causes.
It was noted that authorities acted only after the incidents, exposing systemic negligence and absence of preventive mechanisms. The matter was treated as one involving institutional failure affecting public safety at large scale.
ANALYSIS OF LAW
The Court elevated road safety into the domain of constitutional governance by holding:
First, Article 21 imposes a positive obligation, not merely negative restraint.
Second, infrastructure failure leading to loss of life is a constitutional breach, not merely administrative lapse.
Third, in cases of systemic failure, judicial directions must be structural, enforceable, and time-bound.
The Court thus moved beyond adjudication to governance correction, issuing a nationwide compliance framework.
RATIO DECIDENDI
Failure of State and highway authorities to prevent avoidable road hazards such as illegal encroachments, unsafe parking, and infrastructural deficiencies constitutes a breach of the positive obligation under Article 21, and in such cases, the Supreme Court may exercise powers under Article 142 to issue comprehensive, time-bound directions ensuring systemic compliance and protection of human life. (Paras 1, 5)
CONCLUSION
The Court issued nationwide, binding directions, including:
Prohibition of unauthorized parking on highways
Removal of encroachments within fixed timelines
Mandatory surveillance, inspection and grievance systems
Creation of district-level highway safety task forces
Deployment of emergency response systems
Identification and rectification of accident blackspots
Institution of inter-state coordination mechanisms
and directed strict compliance within 30–75 days, with accountability fixed on all authorities.
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