BENGALURU: Observing that laws relating to footpaths and public streets are rarely effectively implemented in the state, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday said that it is the duty of the State Government to ensure that penal provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, Rules, Regulations framed under the Act and IPC are scrupulously implemented and criminal law should be set into motion against offenders who obstruct footpaths, public streets and bicycles tracks, and cause inconvenience to others, by parking vehicles indiscriminately.
“We hold that it is the duty of the State Government and its instrumentalities to ensure footpaths and public streets are free from obstructions and ensure violation of law is not taken casually and criminal law should be set into motion,” the court said. A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order, while disposing a PIL filed by DS Ramachandra Reddy, seeking directions to protect the rights of footpath users.
Directing the State Government and BBMP to issue instructions to the concerned authorities to invoke penal provisions and criminal law set into motion against offenders, the court said that the right to have footpaths and roads in reasonable condition is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution.
Therefore, the State Government should invite the attention of all the authorities about the penal provisions and ensure that those provisions are invoked strictly, otherwise the directions issued will remain on paper, the court added, while directing the government to implement Sections 117, 122, 127 and 207 of the Motor Vehicles Act.