# Supreme Court Declares Safe Footpaths a Fundamental Right 2026-08-07T00:51:24+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet India’s Supreme Court has declared that people have a fundamental right to walk safely on designated footpaths, after a five-year-old boy was killed by a truck while walking to school. The BBC reports that the ruling places pedestrians’ rights above the privilege of motorised vehicles. About 45 million Indians walk to work each day, compared with 5.4 million who commute in private cars, jeeps or vans, according to census-based estimates cited by the BBC. A 2019 survey found walking accounted for 63% of journeys in selected cities. Yet pavements are often broken, blocked or inaccessible, while pedestrians are the second-largest group of road accident victims after two-wheeler riders. ## Coverage - bbc.com Tags: footpaths, pedestrian safety, road safety, Supreme Court, urban transport Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-declares-safe-footpaths-a-fundamental-right/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-declares-safe-footpaths-a-fundamental-right/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.