In a horrendous incident on Tuesday, a 44-year-old woman died when she unsuspectingly rode into a pothole, causing her to fall and get crushed under a speeding truck’s wheels on National Highway 66 near Mangaluru. The ministry of road transport and highways has reported 9,109 deaths nationwide—mainly of two-wheeler riders—between 2019 and 2023 because of potholes. The Supreme Court, while hearing the S Rajaseekaran (2025) case, noted that deaths due to potholes in India surpassed those from terrorist attacks, and attributed the terribly high incidence to municipal authorities failing to effectively discharge their duties.
Potholes appear due to inadequate road maintenance, especially where substandard material is used. But it is negligence and apathy that prevails in compromising road maintenance, be they on national or state highways, district roads, or thoroughfares in cities, towns and villages. There is a lack of public awareness about legal recourse, too, despite the Bombay High Court’s 2015 ruling that the right to safe and properly maintained roads is part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and that citizens have a right to seek compensation for any loss caused by the violation of this right. Even the Supreme Court recognised the liability of the state for the acts of public servants in cases where fundamental rights are infringed upon, wherein the law of tort can be applied using Article 300 to deal with any breach of duty committed by them.
The authorities need to be held strictly accountable and elected representatives need to use their offices to monitor road safety in their jurisdictions. There’s a need for a codified legal framework spelling out road maintenance duties for the authorities concerned, while equipping them with state-of-the-art pothole repair machines. Strict accountability, standardised contractor protocols and regular audits need to be put in place, alongside stricter penalties to deter them from being negligent or apathetic. An efficient redress system is a must, as is a time-bound compensation process for such accident victims. It’s a long road ahead, though not one impossible to traverse. Otherwise India would undermine its commitment to the international community on road safety under the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aims to reduce road deaths by half.