Highways and expressways in India smoother than ever before: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has lauded the highways in India saying that the surface of these highways/expressways is smoother than ever before. 

Considering evolution of road transport in India, the court said, one cannot miss the significant transformation that it has undergone over the years. "Sincere and serious attempts to revolutionise travel on road by passengers and commuters are discernible. Leaving behind the humble beginnings, focus on infrastructure development has seen a quantum leap. India has developed, in this century, an intricate network of highways providing accessibility to nearby cities and towns from the remotest of villages, thereby establishing ‘last-mile connectivity’", a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and AG Masih has said.

Court has further noted that expressways have been constructed to facilitate faster movement of people and goods between distant locations and thereby reduce travel time. "These highways and expressways are transforming India’s transportation landscape and driving economic growth, among others. What deserves special note is that the surface of these highways/expressways is smoother than ever before.", the bench has added.

The supreme Court has also discussed the introduction of modern vehicles, which as per the court has allowed operators of stage carriage services to provide comfort and convenience which are comparable with services available abroad. Switch to electric vehicles for both public and private use has facilitated sustainable transportation, court noted adding that, with continued innovation and investment, the road transport sector seems to have progressed to attain more efficiency, sustainability and accessibility. 

While making these observations, Supreme Court has set aside orders of the Madhya Pradesh High Court that had directed Uttar Pradesh transport authorities to countersign permits issued by the Madhya Pradesh State Transport Authority in favour of private operators.

Court has held that private bus operators cannot be granted permits to ply on inter-State routes between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh that overlap any portion of routes notified in favour of the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation.

The bench further said that while no permission can be granted at this stage to any private operator having a permit issued by the STA, MP to ply his vehicle on an inter-State route connecting two cities in the neighbouring States, which overlaps any notified intra-State route in the State of UP, much can be achieved through dialogue between the two States. 

"Stage carriage services are provided for the benefit of a vast cross-section of the population and subjecting them to inconvenience would amount to disservice by the States of MP and UP. After all, an inference can legitimately be drawn that the STA, MP having issued permits to private operators on routes hitherto before reserved for the MPSRTC, the same might not have been possible if the MPSRTC had been plying its vehicles on such routes. However, the terms of the IS-RT Agreement specifically required the MPSRTC to be wound up for the private operators to stake claims for obtaining permits on routes earmarked for it. Though it has not been conclusively established before us that the MPSRTC has been wound up, an opportunity ought to be extended to establish it and if proved, at least an attempt ought to be made to fully work out the IS-RT Agreement with modifications which itself contemplates that such a modification could be made", it further observed.

Accordingly, Principal Secretaries of the Transport Departments of the States of MP and UP, together with other responsible officers of the said departments, have been directed to meet at a mutually convenient venue within 3 months to discuss the modalities for fully working out the IS-RT Agreement.

"In the unlikely event of absence of consensus between the two States to permit private operators to ply their vehicles as stage carriages from routes originating in the State of MP and terminating in the State of UP as well as the return trip from the State of UP to the State of MP, the State of MP shall also be at liberty to decide its future course of action keeping in mind that an IS-RT Agreement cannot be revoked without the consent of both the States. We reiterate, these being matters of policy, should be left to both the States to decide and we do hereby reserve it for their consideration", the judgment adds.

Case Title: U.P. STATE ROAD TRANSPORT CORPORATION THROUGH ITS CHIEF GENERAL MANAGER VS. KASHMIRI LAL BATRA & ORS.

Judgment Date: November 4, 2025

Bench: Justices Datta and Masih