Access to safe, well-maintained roads a part of right to life: Supreme Court judgment

The Supreme Court has clarified that access to safe, motorable and well-maintained roads is an essential part of the fundamental right to life under the Constitution.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan held the right to travel to any part of the country was a basic right.

“Since the right to access any part of the country, with certain exceptions and restrictions under certain circumstances, is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, the right to safe, well-maintained, and motorable roads is recognised as a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” Justice Mahadevan, who authored the recent judgment, observed.

The Court said the maintenance of roads was squarely the responsibility of the State.

“It is the responsibility of the State to develop and maintain the roads directly under its control,” the court noted.

The judgment was based on an appeal filed by Umri Pooph Pratappur (UPP) Tollways Private Limited against the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation Limited (MPRDC).

The dispute appeal was against a State High Court decision on a concession agreement between the two entities for the development of the Umri-Pooph-Pratappur Road on a ‘Build, Operate and Transfer’ basis. The total cost of the project was ₹73.68 crore for the augmentation of the existing road from the T-Junction of State Highway 45 at Umari Village to 43.775 km on the Umri-Pooph-Pratappur section of Major District Road in the State.