HC directs Kochi Corporation to ready protocol on upkeep of footpaths
The Kerala High Court has ordered the Kochi Corporation to develop a formal protocol for the maintenance of pedestrian footpaths within one month. The court emphasized that safe walking paths are a fundamental right and criticized the city for failing to address the encroachment of footpaths by vehicles and vendors.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces the legal recognition of pedestrian safety as a fundamental right, potentially setting a precedent for urban infrastructure accountability across India.
The Kerala High Court has directed the Kochi Corporation to ready a protocol on the upkeep of footpaths / pedestrian paths and to inform the court about it within a month.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s recent declaration that the right to safe pedestrian paths and footpaths is a fundamental right, a Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran said that one wonders whether such rights of the people of Kochi and in most other parts of the State are being protected at all.
The amici curiae — Vinod Bhat and S. Krishna — submitted that the condition of footpaths in the city was "nothing to speak of". The Corporation cannot remain mute even after the declaration by the Supreme Court on pedestrian rights, they said.
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