Uttaranchal High Court: The Division Bench of Vipin Sanghi, C.J., and Rakesh Thapliyal, J., after noting that there was a grave dearth of areas for people in Nainital to go for a morning or evening walk, directed that the Lower Mall Road in Nainital should be reserved only for pedestrian movement between 06:00 A.M. to 08:30 A.M. every day.
The Court opined that apart from the lack of sports facilities for children and youths in their colonies, there was also a grave dearth of areas for people to go for a morning or evening walk. In Nainital itself, there was hardly any area where people could walk, without running the risk of accidents, and without having to face vehicular pollution caused by fumes and horns. The Court stated that the Mall Road in Nainital, which was in two parts, Upper and Lower, was such that the Upper Mall Road was wide enough to cater to the needs of the traffic in the early hours of the day and thus, Lower Mall Road could be reserved for pedestrians and morning walkers up to 08:30 A.M., considering the fact that Schools start functioning only from 09:00 A.M. The Court opined that there was sufficient space available on the Upper Mall Road for the traffic to ply to and fro in the morning hours.
Thus, the Court directed that the Lower Mall Road should be reserved only for pedestrian movement between 06:00 A.M. to 08:30 A.M. every day. No vehicle or other mode of transportation shall be permitted to ply on the Lower Mall Road during these hours. The Court further directed the State to publicize this fact so that the pedestrians and morning walkers could use this facility. The Court further held that this direction should be regularly, punctually, and strictly followed without fail and the District Magistrate, Nainital and Police Authorities should ensure strict compliance.
The matter would next be listed on 05-12-2023.
[In the matter of Let the Children Play by increasing the facilities of sports, In Re, 2023 SCC OnLine Utt 1536, Order dated 18-10-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Respondents: Rajeev Singh Bisht, Additional Chief Standing Counsel; Lalit Sharma, V.K. Kapruwan, Standing Counsels