The Madras High Court has held that the state government cannot be ordered to enact a law in a specific manner. The court made the observation while hearing a petition seeking a dedicated road safety legislation in Tamil Nadu.
The petition was filed by R. Thambaiya, founder of the Tamil Road Culture Association from Salem. He sought directions to the Tamil Nadu government to frame a Road Safety Act to curb road accidents in the state.
In his plea, the petitioner listed 19 demands, including construction of footpaths on local body roads, removal of encroachments on pavements, creation of separate lanes for two-wheelers, and a ban on setting up shops along the edges of national and state highways.
A bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan said such a direction to legislate cannot be issued and also noted that multiple demands cannot be raised together in a single petition. The court dismissed the petition, while granting liberty to the petitioner to file separate cases on the individual issues raised.
