The Kerala High Court on Thursday pressed the state government to deploy real-time technological mechanisms to alert police personnel about reckless driving, observing that a recent collision involving a speeding luxury car that left three people dead near Kochi could have been prevented with prompt surveillance intervention.
Hearing a suo motu petition addressing the rising frequency of road crashes across the state, a division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayraghavan V and Justice K V Jayakumar called for the creation of an integrated platform funded through the state road safety corpus to curb fatal incidents. The judges noted that the existing statewide network of artificial intelligence cameras equipped with automatic number plate recognition systems ought to instantly transmit alerts to law enforcement whenever vehicles exceed speed limits.
Court Demands Enforcement Data From Keltron
The proceedings brought immediate scrutiny upon the state-run Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON), which oversees the surveillance network. The bench directed the agency to submit figures detailing the total number of speeding vehicles recorded by automated cameras over the preceding two months, the number of alerts forwarded to police authorities, and the follow-up enforcement measures carried out.
The court noted that the 19-year-old suspect behind the wheel in the recent fatal crash had previously clocked speeds above 210 kilometres per hour. The judges observed that had automated systems flagged that earlier violation to authorities in real time, the subsequent fatalities might have been averted, adding that modern technology exists for such interventions but remains underutilised by the administration.
Fatal Collision Details
The judicial remarks stem from a fatal crash that occurred in the early hours of October 11 at Nedumbassery near Kochi. Three individuals aged approximately 21, including two women, lost their lives when a two-wheeler they were riding was struck by a speeding luxury car. The vehicle was allegedly operated by 19-year-old Suhail while under the influence of alcohol.
Expressing concern over the devastation caused to the victims’ families, the bench warned that road safety conditions would deteriorate further without decisive intervention. The court instructed state authorities to propose a specific timeline for deploying an overarching preventative monitoring platform.
Compliance Orders And Earlier Directives Reaffirmed
The high court ordered the Chief Secretary of Kerala to serve as the nodal authority overseeing compliance and cross-departmental coordination. The bench warned that administrative fragmentation would not be accepted as an excuse to delay enforcement or shift institutional responsibility. State respondents were instructed to present concrete measures, designated implementation officers, and definitive deadlines at the next proceeding.
The bench also reiterated a series of previously issued mandates requiring time-bound execution, including:
— Conducting thorough safety surveys of all state highways and major district roads. — Enforcing strict lane discipline for public transport buses, barring speeding and overtaking aimed at meeting route schedules. — Clearing unauthorised vehicle parking along highway corridors. — Implementing a driver profiling framework under which any motorist accumulating more than 10 traffic challans faces driver licence revocation. — Establishing district-level road safety committees across all jurisdictions without delay.
The court has scheduled the matter for its next hearing on November 3.
