SC Stays Madras HC Order Halting Toll Collection on Madurai-Tuticorin Highway
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court direction that had barred the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from collecting toll on the Madurai-Tuticorin National Highway due to poor road conditions.
A vacation bench comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan issued notice on a special leave petition filed by the NHAI, and stayed operation of the High Court’s June 3 order until further hearing. The petition before the High Court had been filed by V. Balakrishnan, a retired assistant executive engineer of the TN Generation and Distribution Corporation from Tuticorin district.
The Madras High Court had held that the NHAI was under a statutory duty to ensure highways are properly relaid and maintained, and that toll could not be levied unless roads meet the quality benchmarks laid down under the National Highways Authority of India Act.
Emphasizing the principle of quid pro quo, the High Court restrained toll collection until the highway was brought up to the prescribed standards.
Challenging the decision, the NHAI argued before the Top Court that the High Court’s blanket ban on toll collection would have far-reaching financial implications and hinder ongoing maintenance works. Taking note of the submission, Court granted interim relief and posted the matter for further consideration.