The High Court took note of the report of the DCP (Traffic), which said 88 accidents had been reported on the road stretch from Fatima College to Samayanallur in Madurai from 2018 to October 2024. | Photo Credit: File photo
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the authorities to ensure that adequate streetlights were installed along the road stretch from Fatima College to Samayanallur in Madurai.
A Division Bench of Justices M.S. Ramesh and A.D. Maria Clete told the authorities that they would inspect the road stretch at around 5.30 p.m. on November 29. The court directed the Corporation Commissioner, police and other officials to be present during the inspection.
The court took note of the report submitted by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Madurai City, which stated that 88 accidents, including 22 fatal ones, had been reported along the road from 2018 to October 2024. The court directed the authorities to coordinate with one another and identify the places where the accidents were reported.
Earlier, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Samayanallur, had informed the court that 399 accidents — 104 of them fatal — had been reported along the road from 2018 to October 2024.
The court took note of the fact that the Madurai-Dindigul Highway stretch between Fatima College and Samayanallur fell within the territorial jurisdictions of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Madurai City, the revenue jurisdiction of Madurai Corporation Commissioner, Samayanallur town panchayat and Paravai town panchayat.
The court had suo motu impleaded the Corporation Commissioner; Assistant Commissioner of Police, Koodal Pudur; Deputy Commissioner (Traffic), Madurai City; Block Development Officer of Madurai West panchayat union; Executive Officer of Paravai town panchayat and president of Samayanallur village panchayat as respondents in the case.
It recalled the suo motu criminal contempt proceedings initiated against M. Mohana Gandhi, Divisional Engineer (Highways), Construction and Maintenance, Madurai, who was present before the court during the hearing.
The court had initiated contempt proceedings against him as he was not present during the previous hearing and another official was present in his place. He told the court that he was on his way to Chennai to attend a meeting when the court order was communicated to him. Hence, he was unable to appear before the court. Satisfied with the reason, the court recalled the criminal contempt proceedings initiated against him.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed in 2023 by N. Senthil Kumar of Paravai who had sought a direction to the authorities concerned to ensure proper safety measures along the road stretch. The court adjourned the hearing till December 3.
Published – November 21, 2024 11:11 pm IST
