Right to walk, but where? Supreme Court ruling shines light on Delhi's footpaths

New Delhi, Every day in Delhi, thousands of people step off broken pavements, squeeze past rows of parked vehicles, dodge speeding traffic and search for a safe place to cross the road.

The everyday struggle came into sharp focus after the Supreme Court declared the right to walk on designated footpaths a fundamental right.

The ruling, delivered by a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar in a motor accident compensation case involving the death of a five-year-old boy, held that a citizen's right to walk on designated footpaths forms part of the freedoms guaranteed under Article 19(1)(d) and the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, and must take precedence over motor vehicles.


Pedestrians have the first claim over footpaths, the court declared.

The judgment has birthed a larger question: In a city where footpaths are frequently occupied, damaged or missing, how much space is really left for pedestrians?

Also Read: Right to walk on demarcated footpath is fundamental right: Supreme Court

Senior advocate Ashok K Singh said the top court's ruling could help change that by reinforcing the constitutional responsibility of authorities to protect pedestrian spaces.

"This judgment is likely to create greater public awareness about the rights of pedestrians. It will also strengthen the process of removing encroachments and reinforce the idea that authorities are fulfilling their constitutional obligation to protect public spaces and ensure safe mobility for citizens," Singh told PTI Videos.

He alleged that the problem was particularly visible in areas under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council.

"In Delhi, you will find that both the MCD and NDMC have effectively turned footpaths into parking spaces. Vehicles are lined up along these footpaths, leaving little or no room for pedestrians to walk," he said.

Between January and March this year, the Delhi Traffic Police issued 4,30,202 on-the-spot challans for improper or obstructive parking, making it the most common traffic violation in the city, according to official data.

"In many places, it goes beyond just parking. It appears that these footpaths have effectively been leased out for parking operations. If you stop your vehicle on a footpath anywhere in Delhi, within a few seconds, someone is likely to approach you and hand over a parking slip, often issued under NDMC-authorised parking arrangements. Licences have been issued to operators to collect parking fees from vehicles parked on these footpaths," Singh said.

The observations mirror what many residents encounter every day.

"There is a great deal of inconvenience. The government had earlier spoken about taking action against this issue, but the problem has only become more visible over time. There is simply no space left for people to walk," said Delhi resident Roshan Kumar.

Just the other day, Kumar said, he narrowly avoided an accident while walking with his child.

"There is barely any room for pedestrians, and the entire space has been encroached upon. It is difficult for the people to challenge those responsible or even know whom to approach about the problem," he said.

For Sanjay Kumar, pedestrians bear most of the brunt of this encroachment.

"These footpath parking arrangements themselves are problematic. As you can see, a large number of vehicles are parked here, even though there is no legitimate reason for them to occupy the footpath," he said.

"In many areas, you can hardly see the footpath at all," he added.

Academic studies paint a similar grim picture.

A study titled 'Perceptions of pedestrian safety in Delhi: a Rasch analysis approach' by the Transportation Research and Injury Prevention Centre at IIT Delhi, conducted in collaboration with University College London, found that nearly 44 per cent of Delhi's roads do not have footpaths.

Researchers surveyed 426 pedestrians across eight wards in south Delhi in 2022, covering roads near metro stations, bus stops and market areas.

The study found that 12 of the 15 conditions used to assess Delhi's pedestrian environment were perceived as unsafe. These included fast-moving traffic, lack of crossings near bus stops, parked vehicles near crossings, two-wheelers and cars on footpaths, poor lighting, absence of CCTV cameras, lack of police presence, and walking after sunset.

"Footpaths are either missing or completely unusable in many areas. The surface is uneven, the height is wrong, and in some stretches, pedestrian space has been removed altogether during roadworks," Professor Geetam Tiwari of IIT Delhi, a co-author of the study, told PTI.

The researchers found that the presence of street vendors was considered the safest element of the pedestrian environment. Police presence and CCTV cameras also significantly improved people's sense of safety, while raised footpaths and medians were viewed more positively than obstructed or poorly maintained pedestrian spaces.

The study also found that although foot-overbridges exist at several locations, most pedestrians prefer not to use them because they are tiring and inconvenient, particularly for elderly people and those carrying goods.

"Foot-overbridges are not a solution for most people. Even globally, pedestrians tend to avoid them, as they are tiring and inconvenient, especially for older people," Tiwari said.

She also pointed to another weakness in Delhi's road design. "People do not always walk to the signal. If the bus stop is far, they tend to cross the road from where they are," she said, explaining that many bus stops are not connected to safe pedestrian crossings.

The study found that women felt less safe than men, particularly in areas with parked vehicles, missing guardrails and poor lighting.

The research also highlighted a group of road users that often remains invisible in transport planning.

Lead author Neba C Tony described them as "captive pedestrians", people who walk not because they want to, but because they have no alternative.

These pedestrians own no vehicle, have no access to one within their household and cannot afford public transport, she said. As a result, they often walk longer distances than other pedestrians and remain more exposed to road crashes, pollution and other traffic risks.

"The built environment in Delhi is generally hostile to pedestrians," Tony said.

Captive pedestrians often prioritised shorter routes over safer ones, the study found.

Tony recalled an interaction near Okhla Railway Station with a pedestrian who preferred crossing tracks over taking the walking route because it was considerably shorter.

"These pedestrians walk not because they want to, but because they have to. Their voices are seldom heard in policy discussions. This is a serious problem which needs immediate attention," he said.

The consequences are reflected in crash statistics.

According to the Delhi Police, around 649 pedestrians were killed and 1,738 were injured in road accidents in 2025. Private cars accounted for the highest number of pedestrian deaths at 92, followed by two-wheelers at 75, while heavy transport and goods vehicles were responsible for 43 fatalities.

The IIT Delhi study also noted that pedestrians accounted for 43 per cent of the 1,461 fatal road crashes recorded in Delhi in 2022. PTI