Supreme Court Declares Safe Travel on National Highways a Fundamental Right
- Context: The Supreme Court of India declared the Right to Safe Travel on National Highways as a part of the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Safe and motorable roads are now considered a constitutional obligation of the State.
Case Background
- The judgment came in:
- In Re: Phalodi Accident vs. National Highways Authority of India and Others (2025).
- The Court took suo motu cognisance of two road accidents in November 2025 that caused the death of 34 people.
Government’s Road Safety Goal
- India aims to reduce road accidents by 50% by 2030.
- The strategy focuses on the “4 Es”: Education, Engineering (roads and vehicles), Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services
Supreme Court’s Constitutional Role
- The Supreme Court is the custodian of the Constitution and can exercise special powers to ensure justice.
- It invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to provide “complete justice”.
About Article 142
- Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to pass orders necessary for doing complete justice in any case.
- These powers are:
- Inherent to the Supreme Court
- Beyond limitations of ordinary laws
- Used when law is silent or inadequate
National Commission for Women
- Context: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has submitted a comprehensive report containing recommendations regarding the rights of Muslim women in India to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
- This report was submitted following an extensive national-level consultation undertaken with the objective of strengthening the legal, social, and constitutional rights of Muslim women in the country.
The Commission’s Views on Women’s Rights and Personal Law Reforms
Constitutional Safeguards and Legal Reforms
- The Commission noted that constitutional safeguards and recently enacted legal reforms have played a pivotal role in promoting and protecting women’s rights in India.
Enhancing Access to Justice
- The Commission emphasized the importance of making the justice delivery system more accessible to women, thereby ensuring the availability of easy legal aid and effective remedies.
Progressive Codification of Personal Laws
- The Commission underscored the necessity of codifying personal laws in a clearer, more uniform, and progressive manner to eliminate ambiguities within existing laws and to ensure fairness.
Key Areas of Special Focus
- Special attention was directed toward issues concerning the following matters: Marriage, Divorce, Maintenance, Child Custody, and Inheritance.
Review of Laws Pertaining to Muslim Women
The consultation also undertook a review of key laws pertaining to the rights of Muslim women. These include the following:
- The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937
- The Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
- The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986
- The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019.
National Commission for Women (NCW)
- The National Commission for Women is a statutory body of the Government of India; it primarily focuses on advising the government on all policy-related matters affecting women.
- This body was established in January 1992, under the provisions of the Constitution of India, as defined in the ‘National Commission for Women Act, 1990’.
- The primary objective of the National Commission for Women is to represent the rights of women in India and to serve as a voice for their issues and concerns.
- Dowry, politics, religion, equal representation for women in employment, and the exploitation of women in the workforce have been the central themes of the campaigns undertaken by this body.
- The National Commission for Women also undertakes the task of receiving and investigating complaints from women who have been subjected to violence, discrimination, harassment, or the denial of their rights.
