Noting that the right to walk is “inextricably” connected to human life, the Supreme Court on Friday declared pedestrians’ right to walk on a demarcated footpath a fundamental right.
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“The right to walk is a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution. It is integral to the right to movement guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d), read with Article 19(1)(a), Article 19(1) (b), Article 19(1) (c) and Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” a Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar said.
While Article 19(1)(d) says “All citizens shall have the right to move freely throughout the territory of India”, Article 19(1)(a), Article 19(1) (b), Article 19(1) (c) guarantee right to freedom of speech and expression, right to freedom to assemble peacefully without arms and right to form unions, respectively. Article 21 guarantees the right to life and liberty.
“The fundamental right to walk will take within its sweep the right to demarcated footpaths. These rights are primary and shall have priority over movement by motorised vehicles,” the top court said.
“If the road exists, there is a duty to ensure that there are demarcated and well-maintained footpaths for walkers. The duty bearers are the urban development authorities, municipal corporations, municipalities and even panchayats, who must endeavour to demarcate, construct, maintain, and safeguard footpaths and other necessary pedestrian infrastructure, as walking is integral to life,” it said.
“The violation of the right to walk on demarcated footpaths will entitle citizens to invoke constitutional and legal remedies against duty bearers for restitution and compensation. This remedy is independent of the remedies that are available under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,” the Bench said.
However, the freedom to walk on footpaths was subject to reasonable restrictions, it clarified.
The Bench ordered that a copy of the judgment be sent to the ministries concerned and the Law Commission for consideration of appropriate law to define rights, duties and enforcement mechanisms. It also directed that the matter be converted into a separate proceeding to examine larger issues relating to pedestrian rights and infrastructure and ordered the case to be renamed as ‘Re: Fundamental Right to Walk and Footpath’ for continued monitoring.
The verdict came in a case of a fatal road accident that claimed the life of a five-year-old child who was hit by a tanker while walking to school with his father. Setting aside the high court’s order, the top court enhanced the compensation awarded to the child’s family to Rs 11.44 lakh. It noted that the accident occurred in circumstances where there was no footpath or pedestrian crossing.
Calling for a regulatory body to effectuate the fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths, it said the citizen is entitled to enforce restitutionary remedy in case of violation of his right to walk.
To enhance and effectuate the fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths, it was necessary to establish a regulatory body, it said.
“Working with perpetual seal and succession, such a regulator will develop and retain institutional memory so that it can act on the basis of the experience, data, and information it has gathered and processed. Institutional expertise is critical, and such a regulator will employ human resources with domain expertise and talent,” it said.
“The regulator will maintain institutional integrity by taking independent and objective decisions without governmental or industrial control. These values shall flow naturally if there is institutional transparency and accountability. It is in this perspective that we need to effectuate the fundamental right to walk,” the Bench said.
“Though late in the day, we must affirm and secure to our citizens this fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths. Clear articulation and declaration of such a right is necessary to recognise the correlative duty to provision and maintain footpaths. The duty bearers are the Urban Development Authorities, Municipal Corporations, Municipalities, and even Panchayats,” it said.
