Every day, millions of Indians walk to work, to school, to the bus stop or the market, often on roads that offer no footpath at all — forcing them to share tarmac with speeding traffic. The Supreme Court has now told the country's road-building and municipal authorities that this is not merely bad urban planning. It is a violation of a fundamental right. The Court has held that walking safely is part of the right to life guaranteed by Article 21, and that footpaths must be built and maintained on all public roads as a constitutional necessity, not an optional civic amenity left to budgets and discretion.