The Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the experimental opening of a road outside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence in Chandigarh.

The decision comes after both the Centre and the Punjab government opposed the reopening of this road, which has remained closed since the 1980s due to security concerns.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta took note of the threat perception associated with this issue as they noted that the road was closed in the 1980s during the height of terrorism in Punjab.

The bench issued notice on a plea filed by the Punjab government and sought response of administration of Union Territory of Chandigarh by September 2.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 22 gave an order to open a 500-meter road that links Sukhna Lake to Nayagaon in Chandigarh.

This opening was to happen as a trial starting from May 1.

The high court also asked Chandigarh Police to work with traffic experts to plan how to manage traffic on this road, which was supposed to be open from 7 am to 7 pm on weekdays.

Before this decision, people traveling between Nayagaon and Sukhna Lake had to take longer routes through other parts of the city because this road had been closed for a while.