Phalodi-Rangareddy Accident News: Supreme Court issues directions for NHAI, MoRTH

In the wake of Rangareddy and Phalodi accident, Supreme Court earlier took suo motu cognizance on 10th November, 2025. The Bench of Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar in 2026 CaseBase(SC) 338 issued interim directions for Highway safety measures. The Bench highlighted the systemic negligence and catastrophic infrastructure failures that led to these evitable casualties.  

The Apex Court recognized the Telangana-Jodhpur accident news as a grave infringement on the right to safe passage. It further questioned the dereliction of statutory duty by authorities, who addressed illegal encroachments in the aftermath of the tragedies occurred.  Illegal roadside dhabas and unauthorised commercial structures, heavy vehicles parked haphazardly on carriageways, emergency services too distant to arrive in time, surveillance systems on paper, were identified as the major cause for such accidents.  

Phalodi and Rangareddy Accident News

The Jodhpur Phalodi Accident on the Bharatmala Expressway dated 2nd November, 2025 claimed 15 lives. This happened when a speeding tempo traveller ran into and collided with a trailer truck parked near a Dhaba on the Bharatmala Highway. 
 
The next day, people were still recovering from the shock of Phalodi, when Telangana's Rangareddy accident news took rounds after a gravel loaded truck ploughed into a government bus on the Hyderabad-Bijapur Highway, killing 19 people.  

Why Highway Safety cannot be ignored?

The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of two distinct road accidents. The locations were far away, but something was common – Highways. The Supreme Court voiced that the accidents were avoidable, and questioned administrative gaps saying “National Highways constitute approximately 2% of India’s total road length but account for nearly 30% 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. The loss of even a single life to avoidable hazards like illegal parking or blackspots etc., represents a failure of the State’s protective umbrella.” 

Right to Safe Roads a Fundamental Right

The Supreme Court not only expressed concern over the two instances of accidents on the highways.  The Court further connected the dots between the fundamental right to life and road safety. In the words of the Apex Court, “The ‘Right to Life’ enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not merely a guarantee against the unlawful taking of life, but a positive mandate upon the State to ensure a safe environment where human life is preserved and valued. Therefore, recognizing the safety of the commuter as an integral facet of the right to live with dignity as a constitutional obligation under Article 21 of Constitution of India, it is necessary in the interest to address the systematic root causes that these interim directions are issued in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India. We reiterate that no pecuniary or administrative constraint can outweigh the sanctity of human life, and the strict timelines provided herein reflect the urgency of this constitutional obligation.” 

Phalodi-Rangareddy Accident: Supreme Court’s Action

On November 10, 2025, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the systemic negligence underlying these avoidable deaths. The Court appointed Senior Advocate A.N.S. Nadkarni as Amicus Curiae, and demanded comprehensive reports from State and National authorities. On March 13th, 2026, the Phalodi accident Supreme Court proceedings introduced interim directions for the National Highways Authority of India and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 

Supreme Court Directions on Highways Safety Measures

The major glimpse of the interim directions issued by the Supreme Court Division Bench are: 

• No heavy or commercial vehicle may park on any National Highway carriageway except at a designated bay  
• Prohibition to be enforced through the Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS), GPS-timestamped photographic evidence, and integrated e-Challan generation.  
• Construction or operation of any new dhaba, eatery, or commercial structure within the Highway Right of Way is prohibited with immediate effect.
• Already existing unauthorized structures must be demolished within 60 days.
• No government body may grant or renew any license, NOC, or trade approval for any site within highway safety zones without prior clearance from NHAI or the concerned PWD.  
• Every existing license for such sites must be reviewed within 30 days.
• NHAI to fully operationalize the Rajmargyatra encroachment complaint module and activate the Highway Safety Number 1033 for public complaints, ensuring it is prominently displayed at toll plazas and across highway signage, so citizens can report violations directly.
• Establishment of a District Highway Safety Task Force in every district through which a National Highway passes, comprising officers of district administration, police, NHAI, PWD, and local bodies. These task forces must meet fortnightly.  
• State governments have 60 days to notify land-use restrictions within 40 metres (residential) and 75 metres (commercial) from the mid-point of any National Highway.  
• Constitution of dedicated Highway Surveillance Teams of State Police and Transport Department personnel within 30 days for continuous highway patrolling, supplementing NHAI's round-the-clock route patrol vehicles at intervals not exceeding 50 Km.
• On emergency response, NHAI to deploy Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances and recovery cranes within 60 days at intervals not exceeding 75 Kms on every National Highway.  
• Identification and Publication of accident blackspots within 45 days, followed by mandatory LED and high-mast lighting, speed cameras, and transverse bar markings at every such location.
• All implementing agencies, including the NHAI, State Police, and Transport Departments, must comply within 60 days.  
• District Magistrates are required to establish standard operating procedures for periodic inspections and patrolling.

The Court required a compliance report within 75 days from all implementing agencies, including NHAI, NHIDCL, State PWDs, and the Border Roads Organisation.