New Delhi, The Supreme Court has issued a series of nationwide guidelines aimed at improving road safety, including a prohibition on parking heavy vehicles along these routes observing that expressways should not turn into dangerous corridors because of administrative apathy or infrastructural shortcomings.
A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.S. Chandurkar noted that while national highways make up only about two percent of India’s total road network, they account for nearly 30 percent of all road fatalities.
The bench directed the Ministry of Road Transport, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), as well as States and Union Territories to take concrete steps to enhance safety measures. It stressed that the loss of even a single life due to preventable risks such as illegal parking or accident-prone “blackspots” reflects a serious failure of the State’s duty to protect its citizens.
The court has taken suo motu cognisance following the tragic loss of 34 lives in successive road accidents on November 2nd and 3rd, 2025, in district – Phalodi Rajasthan, and district – Rangareddy Telangana. The court found systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures that led to these casualties.
In its 11 page judgement, the top court directed that 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 eChallan generation.
“It is seen that National Highways constitute approximately 2% of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30% 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,” the top court said.
“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.”
Therefore, recognizing the safety of the commuter as an integral facet of the right to live with dignity as a constitutional obligation under Article 21 of 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 top court said.
The court also said that it reiterates that no pecuniary or administrative constraint can
outweigh the sanctity of human life, and the strict timelines provided herein reflect the urgency of this constitutional obligation.