On June 9, the Supreme Court stayed a recent order by the Madras High Court which had halted toll collection on the Madurai-Tuticorin National Highway, citing poor road maintenance.
A bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice Manmohan issued the interim stay while hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) challenging the High Court’s decision.
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The Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman, appearing for NHAI, requested an immediate stay on the High Court’s direction. The Supreme Court accepted the plea and allowed toll collection to continue for the time being.
“Let them recover (toll) now, then we can see,”
— Justice Manmohan observed during the hearing.
Senior Advocate P. Wilson, who represented the respondents, opposed the stay. He argued that charging toll for using a poorly maintained road amounted to "daylight robbery." He further claimed that in other related petitions, NHAI had previously promised to carry out repairs, but those assurances had not been fulfilled.
“The ordeal of the road users everyday is that we pay the toll, but we are not able to enjoy the road. This is daylight robbery,”
— submitted Senior Advocate P. Wilson.
However, ASG Venkataraman responded by noting that more than 25,000 users travel on the road daily. The bench directed Wilson to file a counter affidavit and assured that the Court would look into the matter in detail later.
The Madras High Court’s order dated June 3, delivered by Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice AD Maria Clete, emphasized that toll collection is conditional upon the NHAI maintaining the road in good condition. The High Court had stopped toll collection until the road was relaid and repaired as per the standards under the National Highways Authority of India Act.
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“…the National Highways Authority of India is under obligation to maintain the highways properly and thereafter, collect toll fee from the road users. Instead, they are maintaining the highway road in a bad condition…”
— observed the Madras High Court in its order.
The Supreme Court’s stay now allows NHAI to continue toll collection while the matter remains under judicial consideration.
Case : THE GENERAL MANAGER (T) NATIONAL HIGHWAYS AUTHORITY OF INDIA VS. V.BALAKRISHNAN | SLP(C) No. 16474/2025
