Right to walk on demarcated footpath a fundamental right, rules SC

• The Supreme Court ruled that the right to walk on a demarcated footpath is a fundamental right.

• A bench of Justices P.S. Narasimha and A.S. Chandurkar said the citizen is entitled to enforce restitutionary remedy in case of violation of his right to walk.

• It also batted for a regulatory body to effectuate the fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths.

• The verdict came in a motor accident compensation case where a father lost his five-year-old son to a road accident while taking him to school.

Key points highlighted by the SC bench:

• The absence of safe and comfortable footpaths to walk on, and even when they exist, their subjugation to motor transport, has been a civilisational problem. 

• 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.

• 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 panchayats, who must endeavour to demarcate, construct, maintain, and safeguard footpaths and other necessary pedestrian infrastructure, as walking is integral to life.

• The violation of the right to walk on demarcated footpaths will entitle the 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.

• To enhance and effectuate the fundamental right to walk on demarcated footpaths, it is necessary to establish a regulatory body. 

• 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. 

• 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 author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)