Pro Consumer Verdict: No toll collection on pothole-riddled, jammed highways: Supreme Court
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in News/ August 20,2025
Upholding a Kerala High Court order suspending toll collection at the Paliyekkara plaza in Thrissur district, Supreme Court has ruled that commuters cannot be compelled to pay tolls on highways that are incomplete, riddled with potholes etc. The order came in connection with the poor condition of the Edappally–Mannuthy stretch of National Highway 544.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran dismissed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI’s) appeal against the Kerala High Court’s judgment, which suspended the toll collection due to the bad condition of the road. The judges had reserved the matter on Monday, delivered its verdict on Tuesday evening, stating that both appeals stand dismissed.
“In the meanwhile, let the citizens be free to move on the roads, for use of which they have already paid taxes, without further payment to navigate the gutters and pot-holes, symbols of inefficiency,” the bench said, endorsing the High Court’s 6 August order.
The bench rejected NHAI’s contention that traffic snarls were limited to “black spots” where underpass construction was underway. Despite assurances that the main carriageway remained functional, the court highlighted that even a five-kilometre disruption in a 65-kilometre stretch creates a cascading effect, bringing traffic to a standstill for hours.
