Supreme Court asks why NHAI cannot use electronic surveillance to track parked vehicles
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked why the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) cannot have an electronic surveillance mechanism to immediately track stationary or parked vehicles on highways.
The observation came from a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta, which was hearing a suo motu case related to a November 2025 road accident in Rajasthan's Phalodi area that claimed 15 lives.
Senior advocate A N Nadkarni, who is assisting the top court as amicus curiae in the matter, referred to some recent road accidents caused by vehicles being parked on highways.
"Why can't the NHAI, which has got all the resources with it, have some kind of an electronic surveillance mechanism by which any vehicle found stationary or parked on the highways be immediately tracked," the bench observed.
One of the advocates appearing in the matter said the NHAI conducts patrolling on highways.
The bench was informed that several interlocutory applications had been filed in the matter.
The top court posted the matter for October 13 and said it would deal with applications concerning the removal of encroachments from highways.
While hearing the matter in September, the apex court had flagged the issue of encroachments and stationary vehicles on highways.
The NHAI's counsel had then said the authority had issued circulars for regular inspection and patrolling to check unauthorised parking on highways.
The amicus had said illegal parking of vehicles on highways was one of the major issues leading to road accidents.
In November last year, the top court took suo motu cognisance of the November 2 road accident in Phalodi, in which a tempo traveller rammed into a stationary trailer truck.
The incident occurred near Matoda village on the Bharat Mala Highway when the tempo traveller was travelling from Bikaner's Kolayat temple to Jodhpur.
On April 13, the top court issued a slew of interim directions, including that no heavy or commercial vehicle shall park or stop on any national highway carriageway or paved shoulder except at a designated bay, lay-by or wayside amenity.
It also prohibited the construction or operation of any new dhaba, eatery or commercial structure within the right of way of any national highway.
The top court directed the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the NHAI to identify accident blackspots and critical areas and publish a comprehensive list of accident blackspots on national highways.
"It is seen that national highways constitute approximately 2 per cent of India's total road length but account for nearly 30 per cent of all road fatalities. A road, particularly a high-speed expressway, must not become a corridor of peril due to administrative lethargy or infrastructural gaps," it had said.
