Safe use of roads integral part of right to life under Article 21, says Haryana human rights panel

Chandigarh: The Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC), taking a firm stand on issues related to road safety, has categorically held that the safe use of public roads by citizens is an integral part of the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The Commission observed that negligence in road infrastructure is not merely an administrative lapse but a direct violation of human rights.

While hearing a complaint, the full Commission, comprising Justice Lalit Batra, Chairperson, noted that at several locations issues have arisen regarding interdepartmental jurisdiction and responsibility for road signage, thermoplastic road markings, cat-eyes, dividers, and other safety measures. In view of this, the Commission has sought updated and comprehensive reports from all authorities concerned, including NHAI, the PWD, the Haryana State Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (HSRDC) and Urban Local Bodies.

Referring to the role and responsibilities of the Additional Director General of Police, Traffic and Highways, and the Karnal Police Department, the Commission observed in its order that it is the constitutional duty of the state to protect the life and safety of its citizens.

In the discharge of this duty, the Police Department, particularly the traffic police, plays a crucial and facilitative role in enforcing road safety. The responsibilities of the police department include: effective regulation of traffic and strict enforcement of traffic rules; preventing rash and negligent driving, including over-speeding, wrong-side driving, misuse of high-beam lights, and lane discipline violations; taking effective action against violators; and identification of accident-prone and vulnerable road stretches, junctions, and “black spots”.

The Commission has issued directions to ensure proper development and regular maintenance of central verges and dividers on all major roads across Haryana, on wide carriageways and multi-lane roads with two to six lanes. It has called for installing and maintaining adequate numbers of cat-eyes and retro-reflective road studs at proper intervals across all lanes to ensure clear lane demarcation, especially during night-time; and on roads having six or more lanes, including six-lane and eight-lane roads, install delineators on both sides of the central divider and verge to provide clear road identification and improved visual guidance to drivers.

Commission Assistant Registrar Puneet Arora said on Friday that, as per the orders of the Commission, the right of citizens to use public roads in a safe and secure manner is an inseparable component of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Safe road infrastructure is not merely an administrative responsibility but a human rights imperative. Any lapse in this regard adversely affects the human right of citizens to safely use public roads, he said.

All authorities concerned have been directed to submit compliance reports supported by photographic evidence at least one week before the next date of hearing on April 9.

IANS