Pedestrian’s death: Kerala HC raps Kochi Corpn. over alleged failure to restore footpaths in city

The Kerala High Court has slammed the Kochi Corporation over its alleged failure to restore footpaths, following the private bus accident that resulted in the death of a 28-year-old woman in Kakkanad.

The court reviewed the footage of the accident and observed that the deceased did not have any space on the edge of the road to avoid the oncoming bus.

The court orally inquired what guarantee there was that a person could reach home safely in the absence of safe footpaths. The court directed the the District Police Chief (Kochi City) to take strict action against overspeeding buses.

Action taken by the authorities should instill the fear of the law, the court said. It remarked that bus drivers were acting like “killing machines”. The court reiterated the Supreme Court’s order declaring the right to pedestrian paths a fundamental right. The officials should be held fully responsible for the violation of such a sanctified right, the court said. The police and the other authorities concerned should have ensured that the traffic was regulated in places where the road did not have a designated pedestrian space, like on the spot of the Kakkanad accident, the court said. It added that “action after an accident is merely an afterthought. What is necessary is the will and the commitment to avoid it.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Arun K. Pavithran informed the court that the private bus driver responsible for the Kakkanad accident had several criminal cases against him, including one under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. He apprised the court that a ‘Smart ID’ system recording details of bus employees was under works, and information about 1,300 persons had already been added. The officer informed the court that the police could access these details at any time through a QR code provided on employee IDs.

The court recalled that there was a phone number that was used by road users to report rash driving earlier. It ordered that the phone number must be displayed on all buses. In this regard, the DCP assured the court that displaying the phone number could be made part of the vehicle’s permit conditions.