The Chhattisgarh High Court on October 16, 2025 took suo motu notice of a news report about a long-standing public grievance in Bilaspur, where residents say a footpath used for roughly 40 years under the Dayalband Bridge has been blocked by a wall and locked gate. The court recorded that about 15 families more than 40 people in all rely on that path to reach homes, shops and a school, and that the blockage forces children to be carried across the river or to use unsafe alternative routes.
The matter reached the court after a report in the Bilaspur edition of a Hindi daily described how those living under the bridge have for decades depended on the narrow passage to Lingiyadih, and how a newly erected boundary wall and locked gate now obstruct access. Photographs filed with the court show parents carrying small children, women wading through the river, and a locked gate with a message on the wall that the bench said amounted to a challenge to state authority. Revenue records and a panchnama prepared by the local revenue team reportedly confirm that the footpath exists in the official records up to Dayalband road.
Noting the urgency and the clear public interest, the High Court directed the District Magistrate, Bilaspur to file a personal affidavit explaining what steps the district administration has taken against the person or persons who erected the wall and blocked the path. The court emphasised that no one may take the law into their own hands and that the administration must ensure residents’ safe and unhindered access. The matter is listed for further hearing on October 28, 2025.
For the residents, the order is a prompt judicial signal that their complaint will not be treated lightly. The bench’s direction for a personal affidavit from the District Magistrate raises the administrative stakes: the administration must now provide an accountable, signed update on enforcement measures rather than sending routine departmental notes. For children, elderly residents and anyone facing a medical emergency, removal of the obstruction and clear public access are immediate concerns.
The High Court’s intervention highlights two broader points. First, long-standing informal access arrangements footpaths, tracks and community ways often exist in official records and merit prompt resolution when blocked. Second, a clear judicial order demanding personal compliance from the district head can accelerate administrative action in local disputes where vulnerable residents face day-to-day hardship. The court will review the district’s affidavit at the next hearing.
Case Details : WPPIL No. 92 of 2025, In the matter of Suo Moto Public Interest Litigation based on News item published in Bilaspur Haribhoomi, dated 16th October, 2025 namely “40 Sal Purane Raste Ko Band Kar Likh Diya Gujarane Walon Ki Khoob Khatirdari Ki Jayegi vs State of Chhattisgarh and Others
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