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Right to walk, but where? Supreme Court ruling shines light on Delhi's ... NEW DELHI: Every day in Delhi, thousands of people step off broken pavements, squeeze past rows of parked vehicles, dodge speeding traffic and search for a safe place to cross the road. The everyday struggle came into sharp focus after the Supreme Court declared the right to walk on designated footpaths a fundamental right. The ruling, delivered by a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar in a motor accident compensation case involving the death of a five-year-old boy, held that a citizen's right to walk on designated footpaths forms part of the freedoms guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d) and the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and must take precedence over motor vehicles. Pedestrians have the first claim over footpaths, the court declared. The judgment has birthed a larger question: In a city where footpaths are frequently occupied, damaged or missing, how much space is really left for pedestrians? Senior advocate Ashok K Singh said the top court's ruling could help change that by reinforcing the constitutional responsibility of authorities to protect pedestrian spaces. …

SC declares the right to walk carefree on footpaths a fundamental right The court said the Constitution recognised and guaranteed walking as a fundamental right in its words, “All citizens shall have the right…to move freely throughout the territory of India”. TheSupreme Courton Friday, in a judgment, declared the right to walk on demarcated and well-maintained footpaths a fundamental right which has priority over movement by motorised vehicles. “If a road exists, there must then be a duty to ensure that a footpath is demarcated and maintained for the walkers. This is an enforceable duty. The fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths shall override the privilege of a motorised vehicle,” Justice P.S. Narasimha, who authored the judgment, held. The judgment came in a case of the death of a five-year-old boy who was crushed to death by a truck while walking to the neighbourhood school with his father. Justice Narasimha said walking safely and carefree along wide footpaths, without danger lurking at every turn, was the most basic of rights. It is the “simplest of the simple human activity, inextricably connected to life”, Justice Narasimha observed. The court said the Con…

SC Rules Walking on Footpaths is Fundamental Right Pedestrian Rights and Urban Governance Subject :Constitutional Law - Fundamental Rights In a landmark judicial intervention that seeks to redefine the relationship between urban infrastructure and the average citizen, theSupreme Court of Indiahas formally declared the "right to walk" as afundamental rightunderArticle 19(1)(d)andArticle 21of the Constitution. The judgment, delivered by a bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Atul S Chandurkar, marks a significant departure from decades of motor-centric urban planning, asserting that the convenience of motorized transport cannot supersede the basic human right to navigate public spaces safely. The Civilizational Problem of Urban Mobility At the heart of the litigation—Maniyar Iliyaz Shaik Riyaz vs. P. Ayyappan—lies a stinging critique of modern urban development. The Court described the current state of pedestrian infrastructure not merely as a technical failure, but as a "civilizational problem." For years, the rapid proliferation of motorized vehicles has skewed the priorities of urban planners, often at the ex…

Supreme Court Declares Right to Walk on Footpaths a Fundamental Right ... Fashion 22/06/2026, 2 days ago By farhats693 Posted on June 22, 2026 By farhats693 Supreme Court Declares Right to Walk on Footpaths a Fundamental Right, Calls for Comprehensive Legal Framework Introduction: In a landmark judgment with far-reaching implications for urban governance, road safety, and constitutional rights, the Supreme Court of India has unequivocally recognized the right of pedestrians to walk on demarcated footpaths as a fundamental right protected under Articles 19(1)(d) and 21 of the Constitution of India. The Court further emphasized that the rights of pedestrians take precedence over the convenience of motorized vehicles and underscored the urgent necessity of creating a dedicated statutory framework to protect and enforce this right. The judgment was delivered by a Bench comprising Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar in the case of Maniyar Iliyaz Shaik Riyaz v. P. Ayyappan (Civil Appeal Nos. 4665-4666 of 2025). Although the dispute initially arose from a claim for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act following a tragic road accident, the Supreme Court expanded the…

Supreme Court declares right to walk on footpaths a ... - CNBCTV18 Right to walk, but where? Supreme Court ruling shines light on Delhi's footpaths Supreme Court declares right to walk on footpaths a fundamental right, highlighting Delhi encroachment, IIT Delhi study shows unsafe, hostile conditions and high pedestrian deaths By PTI June 27, 2026, 6:22:09 PM IST (Published) 6 Min Read Every day in Delhi, thousands of people step off broken pavements, squeeze past rows of parked vehicles, dodge speeding traffic and search for a safe place to cross the road. The everyday struggle came into sharp focus after the Supreme Court declared the right to walk on designated footpaths a fundamental right. The ruling, delivered by a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar in a motor accident compensation case involving the death of a five-year-old boy, held that a citizen’s right to walk on designated footpaths forms part of the freedoms guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d) and the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and must take precedence over motor vehicles. Pedestrians have the first claim over footpaths, the court declared. The judgment has birthed a larger questi…

Walking a fundamental right, footpath must for all roads: Supreme Court The Supreme Court has declared the right to walk a fundamental right, integral to life and free movement. The apex court urged the government to enact a law ensuring well-demarcated footpaths on all roads, prioritizing pedestrian safety over motorized vehicles. This landmark ruling empowers citizens to seek legal recourse for violations and mandates civic bodies to maintain pedestrian infrastructure, transforming urban and rural living.

Bengaluru’s footpaths belong to everyone but pedestrians The Supreme Court recently ruled that every citizen has a Fundamental Right under the Constitution to walk on safe, clearly demarcated and well-maintained footpaths. Bengaluru’s civic administration then announced a ‘Safe Footpath’ campaign from this month.

Why Supreme Court said right to walk on footpath is fundamental right The Supreme Court on Friday held that the right to walk on secured footpaths is a fundamental right and urged the government to bring a law that declares this right and recognises the duty of municipal authorities and local bodies to build, demarcate, and maintain necessary pedestrian infrastructure. “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. 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,” a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Atul S Chandurkar said. The court said that the fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths has a correlative duty. “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 pan…

Supreme Court declares the right to walk carefree on footpaths a fundamental right The apex court judgment said walking powered the Freedom Struggle, politics and social reforms, but is yet to be recognised as a fundamental right; Asks government to frame a law to protect walkers on the footpath; Establish a regulator

the right to walk: supreme court of india affirms footpaths as a ... In a landmark judgment, theSupreme Court of Indiahas declared thatthe right to walk safely on unobstructed footpaths is a fundamental right under Article 21of the Constitution. This ruling comes as a much-needed intervention in a country where walking, one of the most basic human activities, is often unsafe, undignified, and in many cases, life-threatening. Despite constitutional guarantees, pedestrians in India face daily challenges due to inadequate infrastructure. As per the Times of India, in 2023, approximately 35,000 pedestrians were killed in road accidents in India. This represents a significant portion of the total road accident fatalities, with every fifth death being a pedestrian. In 2022, the number of pedestrian fatalities was around 32,825, showing a substantial increase from 15,746 in 2016. In Nagpur, for instance, pedestrians accounted for 30% of road accident fatalities in 2024, primarily due to the lack of proper footpaths A Bench of JusticesAbhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyanmade it clear: “Unobstructed footpaths are not a luxury — they are a constitutional right.” The Court has directed allStates…