India's Supreme Court took action on Thursday, September 3, 2026, urging the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to consider setting up camera surveillance systems and monitoring rooms at toll plazas. This push comes in response to highway hazards like encroachments and illegally parked vehicles, which have been linked to two deadly accidents in November 2025 that resulted in the deaths of 34 people.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard a suo motu case initiated after these tragic incidents. The accidents included a tempo traveller crash in Phalodi district, Rajasthan, and a head-on collision in Rangareddy district, Telangana.
On November 2, 2025, a tempo traveller carrying pilgrims from Jodhpur crashed into a truck parked outside an eatery on the Bharatmala highway in Phalodi, killing 15 people, including women and children. Just one day later, 19 individuals, including a three-month-old girl, lost their lives in Rangareddy. This second accident occurred on National Highway 163 when a lorry collided with a bus while trying to avoid a pothole.
The court underscored that the safety of highway users is a fundamental part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. It stressed the State's duty to prevent avoidable deaths from hazards such as illegal parking and accident-prone “blackspots.”
Back in April, the top court had issued several directives to boost safety. It required district magistrates to ensure all unauthorized structures within highway safety zones are removed or demolished within 60 days.
Government departments, authorities, and local bodies were prohibited from granting or renewing licenses, no-objection certificates, or trade approvals for sites within these zones without prior approval from the NHAI or the relevant Public Works Department. The court also ordered the creation of a District Highway Safety Task Force in each district to ensure compliance with these directives.
The NHAI counsel informed the Bench that circulars had been issued for regular inspections and highway patrols to deter unauthorized parking. But the Justices pushed for a more advanced technological solution.
“Why can’t you think of having a camera surveillance system? You can have monitoring rooms at all toll plazas, ”the Bench questioned.
Senior advocate A. N. S. Nadkarni, serving as amicus curiae, pointed out that illegally parked vehicles along highways remain a significant safety issue, frequently causing road accidents.
During the hearing, the court was also informed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Tamil Nadu government had not yet filed their compliance affidavits. The court granted the two Ministries two weeks to submit their affidavits and directed the Tamil Nadu government to file its response before the next hearing on October 6.
