By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Tuesday reserved its verdict on a public interest lawsuit seeking directions to the central and state governments to undertake comprehensive traffic safety measures to check fatal accidents.
A bench comprising Justices H.K. Sema and Markandey Katju reserved the verdict after hearing arguments from counsel representing various parties, including those for the petitioner, the NGO Common Cause, the central government and various state governments.
The bench has been adjudicating the issue since 2003.
During the period, it also examined written replies and views of the central and various state governments.
All states responded to the petition and participated in the adjudication of the matter, barring Maharashtra.
Tamil Nadu, with the highest casualty in road accidents, was the last state to respond to the issue.
Citing officials figure of 2005, the petitioner said 13,961 people died in road accidents in Tamil Nadu, followed by 10,944 in Andhra Pradesh, 10,613 in Maharashtra, 9,860 in Uttar Pradesh and 6,876 in Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh together had accounted for over a quarter of the road accident deaths in the country, the petitioner had contended.
The petitioner had sought court directions to the government to improve road safety by improving road conditions, reforming traffic laws and enforcing them effectively.
The petitioner also wanted the court to direct various governments to educate people on road safety measures and making arrangements for providing swift medical facilities to road accident victims.