New Delhi: The Supreme Court mulled formulating pan-India guidelines to prevent road accidents, such as a recent one in Rajasthan's Phalodi that claimed 15 lives, on expressways and national highways.

A bench of Justices J K Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi flagged the construction of illegal "dhabas" on both sides of national highways and expressways as a possible cause of road accidents and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared in the matter for the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to submit the statutory rules and regulations for initiating action against these eateries. The court also sought to know about the action taken so far, which authority is responsible for initiating it and which bodies are not implementing the provisions.

"After discussion between amicus and solicitor general, issues resolved by them, which may be helpful for issuance of the guidelines, also to be produced. In the meantime, parties are at liberty to exchange Google images, which may be helpful in resolving the real problem," the court ordered.