Supreme Court Issues Nationwide Road Safety Directions, Warns Against Highway Negligence

PTI, April 20, 2026, New Delhi: Observing that expressways must not become corridors of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of pan-India guidelines for enhancing road safety, including a ban on parking of heavy vehicles on such roads.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and A S Chandurkar pointed out that national highways constitute two per cent of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30 per cent of all road fatalities. The bench issued directions to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and States and Union Territories to make roads safer, observing that the loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots represents a failure of the State’s protective umbrella.

“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. The ‘Right to Life’ enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India 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,” the top court said in its order of April 13.

It passed the order in a suo motu case registered in the aftermath of the loss of 34 lives in successive road accidents on November 2 and 3, 2025, in Phalodi in Rajasthan and Rangareddy in Telangana, on the systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures that led to these avoidable casualties.

The bench, which issued pan-India directions, said: “Recognising the safety of the commuter as an integral facet of the right to live with dignity as a constitutional obligation under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it is necessary in the interest to address the systematic root causes that these interim directions are issued in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.”

The bench said no pecuniary or administrative constraint can outweigh the sanctity of human life, and the strict timelines provided reflect the urgency of this constitutional obligation.

It directed that no heavy or commercial vehicle shall park or stop on any national highway carriageway or paved shoulder except at designated bays, lay-byes, or wayside amenities. Enforcement of the direction shall be effected through Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), real-time alerts to State Police, GPS timestamped photographic evidence, and integrated e-Challan generation.

These directions must be complied with by officials and personnel of NHAI, State Police, State Transport Departments, and District Magistrates, who shall also set up standard operating procedures for periodic inspections and patrolling. The directions must be complied within 60 days from the date of the order.

One of the important directions included prohibition with immediate effect on construction or operation of any new dhaba, eatery, or commercial structure within the Right of Way (ROW) of any national highway. District Magistrates shall enforce demolition or removal of all unauthorised structures within 60 days.

No department or authority shall grant or renew any licence, NOC, or trade approval for sites within highway safety zones without prior NHAI or PWD clearance, and existing licences shall be reviewed within 30 days.

The bench directed that every District Magistrate shall constitute a District Highway Safety Task Force within 15 days, comprising officers from the district administration, police, NHAI or concerned land-owning agency, PWD, and local bodies.

It further directed surveillance, patrolling, illegal parking monitoring, operationalisation of ATMS, construction of truck lay-byes, identification of accident blackspots, lighting improvements, and institutional coordination mechanisms for road safety.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been directed to file a compliance report after collecting data from States and agencies within 75 days. The court said parties may approach it in case of compliance issues, and listed the matter for compliance after two months.

On December 15 last year, the top court had indicated the need for pan-India guidelines to prevent road accidents on expressways and national highways.