Calcutta High Court lays out dos & don'ts for guard rail use on national highways
Times of India | 28 March 2025
12 Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the state authorities to adequately illuminate the guard rails placed on national highways so that motorists driving at night can spot them properly from 100 metres ahead of the barricades. The high court has also directed the state authorities to issue a circular on how guard rails should be placed on national highways.
A division bench of Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Chaitali Chatterjee (Das) passed the order in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed for the removal of barricades from national highways.
Senior counsel for the petitioner, Nilanjan Bhattacharjee, submitted that barricades placed on national highways in Bengal in a non-judicious manner, without proper warning and illumination, were leading to fatal accidents. Bhattacharjee, in his submission, cited the case of a member of the Bar of Burdwan court who met with an accident on a rainy day because of the guard rails.
Bhattacharjee also placed before the court two RTI applications, one to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the other to Bengal Police, in this regard. According to Bhattacharjee, NHAI in the reply said that it didn't place barricades on national highways because it didn't want to impede the full flow of traffic. The local police placed those barriers because of administrative reasons.
The counsel for the petitioner also attached a copy of the Madras high court order in 2017 on the same subject. "The Madras HC has not prohibited the use of guard rails. It has observed that barricades and guard rails should be placed in a judicious manner. The court directed the police authorities to identify the unwanted barricades and remove them," the Chief Justice said.
The Chief Justice held that barricades were often placed on national highways to regulate speed. "In spite of the barricades, several accidents are taking place on national highways. The multi-axle vehicles go at break-neck speed, causing accidents. Barricades should be placed near accident-prone zones," the Chief Justice held.
The division bench also held that barricades and guard rails were placed on national highways by the local police as per administrative requirements. "It would not be in the wisdom of the court to interfere with the decision of local police. However, there should be sufficient warnings ahead of the barricades and they should be illuminated," the Chief Justice observed.
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