Plea to install sufficient lightings, strengthen police patrolling, CCTV surveillance, emergency-response facilities on Madurai ring road stretch - The HinduPublished - September 21, 2026 10:44 pm IST - MADURAIThe Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the State to file a report to a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to authorities to install sufficient lightings, strengthen police patrolling, CCTV surveillance and emergency-response facilities on the Madurai ring road stretch connecting Valayankulam, Chinthamani and Vandiyur toll plazas and the connecting NH-44 corridor.A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel was hearing a petition filed by A.F. Parvesh Mushraf of Dindigul. The petitioner said he was a regular user of the stretch. He said substantial portions of the stretch remained inadequately illuminated during the night.The lack of lighting substantially reduces a driver’s reaction time when a pedestrian, cyclist, two-wheeler, disabled vehicle or other obstruction enters the path of a moving vehicle. This creates a foreseeable and avoidable risk of collision on a stretch where vehicles travel at relatively high speeds, he said.He said the authorities are obliged not merely to install lighting poles but to verify their continued functional status, since installed but non-functional lighting does not discharge the underlying safety obligation.A comprehensive audit identifying the functional and non-functional lights, dark spots, junction lighting and toll-plaza lighting is therefore a necessary first step followed by consideration of continuous median-mounted dusk-to-dawn LED lighting with centralised fault monitoring, he said.He sought a direction to authorities to conduct a comprehensive joint night time road safety and illumination audit of the Madurai ring road stretch connecting Valayankulam, Chinthamani and Vandiyur toll plazas and the connecting NH-44 corridor. Further, he sought a direction to authorities to identify dark spots, accident-prone locations and safety deficiencies, and to file a location-wise report specifying the authority responsible for rectification.The petitioner also sought a direction to authorities to install sufficient lightings to provide proper illumination and strengthen night-time police patrolling, CCTV surveillance and emergency-response facilities on the Madurai ring road stretch connecting Valayankulam, Chinthamani and Vandiyur toll plazas and the connecting NH-44 corridor. The court posted the matter for hearing to October 12.Published - September 21, 2026 10:44 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }