Accidents Due to Vehicles Parked on Roads.. Supreme Court Issues Key Directions

The Supreme Court has suggested strengthening electronic surveillance on highways to prevent accidents caused by vehicles left parked or stranded on roads. The court questioned the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on why electronic surveillance equipment was not being installed to identify such vehicles promptly and facilitate their removal. The court was hearing a suo motu case concerning a road accident in Rajasthan last November that resulted in the deaths of 15 people. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, A.G. Masih and Sandeep Mehta questioned the delay, noting that NHAI has the necessary resources to install such surveillance systems.

Amicus curiae and senior advocate A.N.S. Nadkarni informed the bench that several similar accidents had occurred recently. Counsel appearing for NHAI told the court that patrolling was being carried out on highways. The Supreme Court also said it would hear petitions concerning the removal of encroachments on roads on October 13.