In a landmark judgment delivered recently on June 19, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the “Right to Walk safely on footpaths” is an integral part of the ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21 and Article 19(1)(d) of the Constitution. The case is titled Maniyar Iliyaz @ Shaik Riyaz & Anr. v. P. Ayyappan & Ors., or simply, the Maniyar Iliyaz Case.
My Lords, it is indeed a magnificent judgment! However, I have one humble request: along with the verdict, if only you could have also provided the actual roads and footpaths. Forget about the rest of the country. If only you had looked just a few kilometers ahead or behind that very court where you sat to deliver this ruling—beyond the glittering roads of Lutyens’ Delhi.
Let me show you a glimpse of the roads in Burari, one of the most densely populated areas of Delhi, located just 14 kilometers away from your court. You will find a similar state of affairs almost everywhere else.
So, about 700 to 800 meters from the Burari flyover/crossing on the Ring Road, lies a neighborhood called Bengali Colony. Right next to it flows a government-constructed drain that resembles a small canal. Years ago, the government suddenly realized that a ‘garbage dump’ (Kachra Ghar) needed to be built in this area. Heaven knows what kind of study led them to the decision to build it right next to the main road, by the drain, right outside the heavily populated Bengali Colony. The residents protested and demonstrated against this decision. But as expected, it had no impact. The garbage dump was built right there.
Now, garbage from all over Burari is brought and dumped there first, before being hauled away elsewhere. Aged cattle from the nearby Jharoda Dairy, no longer valued by their owners, roam around these piles of trash in search of food. This garbage dump, the waste-collection trucks, and these stray animals are a major cause of the traffic jams in this area.
Worse still, plastic bags and other trash blow away from these garbage piles and land into the colony’s open drains, choking them. To clear them, MCD workers—subcontracted through layers of contracts—arrive. They scoop out the filth and leave it right on the street, claiming they will retrieve it once it dries, as hauling wet waste is difficult. But it is never picked up. Eventually, it dries up and falls back into the open drains. What remains on the road is the dried muck, which turns into dust. Slowly, kicked up by the wheels of passing vehicles, this dust floats into the air. During the ‘pollution season’, the government bans construction activities, yet this dust continues to fly freely.
Now, let’s step onto the main road from the colony. It is a 100-foot-wide road, but about 40 feet of it on both sides is permanently occupied by parked vehicles. Sure, footpaths have been built in some places, and they are covered too. But the stone or concrete slabs covering them are broken in so many places that not just a human, but even a rickshaw could fall through and drown in the drain beneath. At some spots, motorcyclists—harassed by water overflowing onto the roads or by the heavy traffic—ride their bikes right onto these very footpaths.
Meanwhile, the poor pedestrian, armed with their “Right to Walk,” keeps shifting between the footpath and the main road, trying desperately to move forward. After all, doesn’t the ‘Right to Life’ ultimately include the ‘Right to Die’?