Ensuring Safe and Encroachment-Free Highways: A Landmark Ruling by Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih
The Supreme Court of India addressed a significant issue that affects millions of people in India on a daily basis in the writ petition Gyan Prakash v. Union of India & Ors. [Writ Petition (C) No. 1272 of 2019]. This issue is the unlawful encroachments on National Highways and the direct impact that these encroachments have on traffic safety. Concerning the urgent need to enforce the requirements of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002 (which will be referred to in the following paragraphs as “the 2002 Act”) and its related rules, the case was presided over by Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih.
In the petition, the alarming number of fatalities that have occurred as a result of highway accidents was brought to light, and the petition sought the Court to compel the authorities to apply regulations that are designed to ensure the safe and legitimate use of roadways.