Supreme Court: In continuation of the suo motu cognizance of systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures, that led to tragic loss of 34 lives in road accidents in Rajasthan and Telangana in November 2025; the Division Bench of J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S. Chandurkar, JJ., recognised that safety of the commuter is an integral facet of the right to live with dignity as a constitutional obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“The Right to Life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution is not merely a guarantee against the unlawful taking of life, but a positive mandate upon the State to ensure a safe environment where human life is preserved and valued.”
With the recognition of commuter’s safety as an important component under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Court therefore, issued certain interim directions aiming at addressing the root causes behind tragic accidents at National highways.
Tragedies that compelled the Court to Intervene
Phalodi Accident: The first incident took place on 2 November 2025 near Mathoda in Phalodi district, Rajasthan, where a bus carrying pilgrims rammed into a stationary trailer parked near a roadside “dhaba” on the Bharatmala Expressway. The accident resulted in 15 deaths. Reports indicate that multiple unauthorised dhabas and illegal encroachments operate along this stretch of the national highway, with several heavy vehicles parked in unsafe conditions. Following the accident, authorities reportedly initiated a crackdown on illegal roadside structures, but only after the tragedy occurred.
Rangareddy Accident: The second accident happened on 3 November 2025 on the Mirjaguda─Khanapur road near Chevella in Rangareddy district, Telangana, when a gravel-laden lorry coming from the opposite direction on National Highway-163 collided head-on with a State Road Transport Corporation bus while trying to avoid a pothole. The collision resulted in the death of 19 people, including a 40-day-old infant. According to media reports, the stretch of road lacked basic safety infrastructure such as streetlights, dividers, and signage, highlighting serious lapses in road safety measures.
The aforestated accidents compelled the Court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter. In Phalodi Accident, In re, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2428, the Court recognised negligence and infrastructural lapses as grave infringement on the right to safe passage and a dereliction of statutory duty by authorities. The Court thus issued notice to State and National authorities, demanding a comprehensive report on these egregious administrative failures and the resulting threat to public safety.
Court’s Assessment
Perusing the matter, the Court pointed out that National Highways constitute approximately 2 per cent of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30 per cent of all road fatalities. “A road, particularly a high-speed Expressway, must not become a corridor of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps. The loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots etc., represents a failure of the State’s protective umbrella.”
Interim Directions given by the Court
Upon perusing the suggestions and recommendations made by the Amicus Curiae, Solicitor General and comments placed by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Court deemed it fit to issue the following interim directions:
(a) Prohibition on Authorised Parking — No heavy or commercial vehicle shall park/stop on any National highway carriageway or paved shoulder except at a designated bay, lay-bye, or Wayside Amenity; enforcement shall be effected through the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) real-time alerts to State Police, GPS-timestamped photographic evidence , and integrated e-Challan generation.
(b) Inspection, Survey and Citizen Grievance — The Highway Administration, NHAI, NHIDCL, and State PWDs shall, within 30 days, file before the Court a consolidated report on the following:
(i) Composition and schedule of dedicated inspection teams for each highway stretch.
(ii) State-wise encroachments identified, notices issued under Section 26, Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002 (CNH Act) and structures demolished.
(iii) Report on status of compliance with the directions issued in Gyan Prakash v. Union of India, (2025) 7 SCC 174. NHAI shall simultaneously confirm full operationalisation of the Rajmargyatra encroachment complaint module (with geo-tagged uploads, grievance tracking, and appeal mechanism), activation of toll-free number 1033 for encroachment complaints, and dissemination of both across highway signage, toll plazas, and media. Drone-based aerial surveys shall be conducted at least twice annually, with six-monthly reports filed before the Court.
(c) Encroachment Prohibition and Removal — Construction/operation of any new dhaba, eatery, or commercial structure within the Right of Way (ROW) of any National highway is prohibited with immediate effect. District Magistrates shall enforce demolition/removal of all new or existing unauthorised structures within 60 days, in terms of the CNH Act procedure and SOP dated 7 August 2025.
(d) Grant and Renewal of Licence, NOC or Trade Approval — No department, authority, or local body shall grant or renew any licence, NOC, or trade approval for any site within highway safety zones without prior NHAI/PWD clearance; all such existing licences for such sites shall be reviewed within 30 days.
(e) District Highway Safety Task Force — In every district wherever the National highway passes through, the District Magistrate concerned within 15 days of this order constitute a District Highway Safety Task Force in every district across India within 7 days of this order, comprising officers of the District Administration, Police, NHAI (or land-owning agency concerned), PWD, and local bodies. The District Collector and Commissioner of Police/Superintendent of Police shall bear joint responsibility for timely encroachment removal. The Task Force shall hold fortnightly review meetings and maintain minutes. State Governments shall further issue notifications within 60 days prohibiting change of land use within 40 m (residential) and 75 m (commercial) from the mid-point of any National highway, consistent with IRC norms; MoRTH shall facilitate uniform notifications across all States within the same period.
(f) Surveillance, Patrolling and Illegal Parking — Dedicated Highway Surveillance Teams of State Police and Transport Department personnel shall be constituted within 30 days for regular National highway patrolling, supplementing NHAI’s 24×7 route patrolling vehicles at intervals not exceeding 50 km. All such vehicles shall necessarily be equipped with vehicle tracking devices.
(g) Operationalisation of ATMS — NHAI shall operationalise its ATMS comprising TMCC cameras, VSDS speed detectors, VIDS cameras, variable message signboards, and emergency call boxes across all 4/6-lane highways and expressways in terms of the Policy Circular dated 10 October 2023 and shall file an affidavit within 60 days of compliance, further certifying operational status of each component. Any non-operational units shall be made functional within 60 days.
(h) Emergency Response and Wayside Amenities — NHAI is directed to deploy within a period of 60 days BLS ambulances and recovery cranes which can be deployed immediately at intervals not exceeding 75 km on every National highway stretch, at toll plazas, Wayside Amenities, or dedicated posts, in affirmance towards the State’s positive obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution to ensure prompt and timely emergency medical response.
(i) Construction of Truck Lay-Bye Facilities — NHAI and MoRTH shall ensure construction of truck lay-bye facilities at intervals of every 75 km on all National highways, with priority to the Amritsar-Jamnagar Highway, and shall operationalise the Wayside Amenities Policy dated 29 December 2025 strictly in accordance with its stipulated timelines; all WSAs shall include, at minimum, rest areas, food services, washrooms, safe parking, first-aid facilities, and retro-reflective signage visible from 500 m, in full compliance with FSSAI standards.
(j) NHAI/MoRTH may also consider providing for more or extra truck lay-bye facilities, wherever possible on the stretch of National highway, as the drivers of heavy transport vehicles which are continuously being driven could be provided resting facilities.
(k) Accident Blackspots and Lighting — MoRTH/NHAI are directed to identify accident blackspots and critical areas and publish a comprehensive list of accident blackspots on National highways within 45 days. NHAI shall issue a Policy Framework mandating installation of high intensity LED/high-mast lighting, speed enforcement cameras, retro-reflective warning signs, and transverse bar markings at every blackspot; full installation shall be completed within 4 months of the Policy Framework.
(l) Institutional Co-ordination, Reporting and Road Safety Committee — MoRTH shall, within 60 days, place before the Court a report on the constitution of an Inter-State Highway Safety Coordination Committee for standardising enforcement protocols including uniform driving-hour limits, surveillance standards, parking enforcement, and penalty regimes across State boundaries.
(m) Compliance Report — It is further directed that all implementing agencies (NHAI, NHIDCL, State PWD, BRO) shall be jointly and severally responsible for compliance within their respective jurisdictions. MoRTH upon securing the consolidated district-wise and agency-wise compliance report shall file the same in a tabular form before the Court within 75 days from the date of uploading of this order.
Conclusion
The Court reiterated that no pecuniary or administrative constraint can outweigh the sanctity of human life, and the strict timelines provided in the aforestated interim directions reflect the urgency of the Court’s obligation under Article 142 of the Constitution.
The Court also directed the Registry to send a copy of this order to the Chief Secretary/Administrator and Director General of Police of all States and Union Territories, State Legal Services Authorities, and National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.
The Registry was also directed to forward a copy of this order to the Road Safety Committee headed by Justice Abhay M. Sapre, former Judge, Supreme Court of India, in continuation of the practice as directed in Gyan Prakash (supra). MoRTH shall also place before the Court the Committee’s recommendations insofar as they pertain to the causes of highway accidents addressed herein within 75 days.
Also Read: Heavier Loads, Higher Costs: Key Changes under Fourth Amendment to National Highways Fee Rules
[Phalodi Accident, In re, SUO MOTO WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 9 OF 2025, order dated 13-4-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Mr. Atmaram NS Nadkarni, Sr. Adv.(Amicus Curiae) Mr. Jai Anant Dehadrai, AOR Ms. Deepti Arya, Adv. Ms. Himanshi Nagpal, Adv. Mr. Prashanth Dixit, Adv. Ms. Arzu Paul, Adv. Ms. Srutee Priyadarshini, Adv. Ms. Bhavya Jain, Adv.
For Petitioner(s): Petitioner-in-person
For Respondent(s): Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. Digvijay Dam, Adv. Ms. Gunjan Sinha Jain, AOR Mr. Shyam Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Atmaya, Adv. Mr. Karan Sharma, AOR Mr. Mohit Siwach, Adv. Mr. Alok Sangwan, Sr. A.A.G. Mr. Samar Vijay Singh, AOR Mr. Sumit Kumar Sharma, Adv. Ms. Sabarni Som, Adv. Mr. Aman Dev Sharma, Adv. Mr. Gaj Singh, Adv. Mr. Rajat Sangwan, Adv. Ms. Divya Sharma, Adv. Mr. Harsh Mehla, Adv. Mr. Rajat Sinha Roy, Adv. Mr. Anupam Saxena, Adv. Mr. Ashvini Kumar Mishra, Adv. Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AOR Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, A.A.G. Ms. Shalini Singh, Adv. Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, AOR Mr. Satyalipsu Ray, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Ms. Devina Sehgal, AOR Mr. Srikanth Varma Mudunuru, Adv. Mr. Bishwajit Dubey, A.A.G. Mr. Vinayak Sharma, Standing Counsel, Adv. Mr. Ravinder Kumar Yadav, AOR Mr. Vivek Sharma, AOR Dr. Vijay Kumar Sharma, Adv. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Rai, Sr. Adv. Ms. Modoyia Kayina, Adv. Ms. Farhat Naim, Adv. Mr. Vinay Kumar Rai, Adv. Mrs. Rajshree Rai, Adv. M/S R And R Law Associates, AOR Mr. Pranav Sachdeva, AOR Ms. Khushboo Singhal, Adv. Mr. P Rohit Ram, Adv. Mr. Sanyam Jain, Adv. Ms. Mishra Divya Santosh, Adv.
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