Kochi: Kerala High Court’s temporary ban on collection of toll by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) 65 km Edappally-Mannuthy stretch of NH 544 at Paliyekkara will continue till September 9 as NHAI has failed to maintain status quo, media reports said.
The Monitoring Committee set up by the court to give feedback about the restoration work informed the court that NHAI had failed to restore the road fit for toll collection.
The committee said that the work on restoring the highway service was moving slow.
The Kerala High Court had a few days back stopped NHAI or its agents from collecting tolls or user fees for four weeks until it provided safe, unhindered, and regulated access to the roads.
The division bench of the court gave the ruling while hearing petitions against toll collection on the Edappally-Mannuthy stretch of NH 544 due to bad road conditions.
The construction of facilities like underpasses, flyovers, and drainage works had caused major traffic congestion leading to strong criticism from the public in social media and in various news organisations.
The bench ruled that while the public must pay tolls under normal conditions, the NHAI is obligated to maintain smooth and barrier-free roads.
The NHAI argued that toll collection is governed by contracts with private partners and that any stoppage could lead to legal claims.
Rejecting the argument, the court said that “No agreement between the State and a private entity can override the imperative to protect public interest.”
The NHAI challenged the High Court verdict in the Supreme Court which upheld the High Court verdict.
HC ban on toll payment continues
