New Delhi, June 9 The Supreme Court, in an interim order passed on Monday, stayed the operation of a Madras High Court decision, which had restrained the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from collecting toll on the Madurai-Tuticorin national highway.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan agreed to examine the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the NHAI and issued notice to V. Balakrishnan, a retired Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation assistant executive engineer from Tuticorin district, on whose plea the Madras HC passed the impugned order on June 3.
The stay order was opposed by senior advocate P Wilson, who termed toll collection "daylight robbery" since the Madurai-Tuticorin highway remained in an unsatisfactory condition.
The apex court told the respondents to complete pleadings, saying that it would examine the matter in detail at a later stage.
In its order, the Madras HC said that the collection of toll fees on the Madurai-Tuticorin national highway was "impermissible" and the road users are entitled to a "good condition" highway, and then alone they are liable to pay toll fees as prescribed by the NHAI.
It ordered the NHAI authorities not to collect toll fees from the road users, who are travelling from Madurai to Tuticorin or from Tuticorin to Madurai, till such time, the road is relaid or maintained as per the standards prescribed under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988.
However, the bench of Justices S.M.Subramaniam and A.D.Maria Clete clarified that after the highway road is maintained in a good condition as per the standards prescribed under the law, the NHAI would be at liberty to collect toll fees from the road users. The Madras High Court took note of the fact that the contract for maintaining the Madurai-Tuticorin national highways came to be terminated on March 17 last year on the finding that the contractor failed to maintain the road as per the NHAI standards.
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