Kerala High Court's decision - Toll fee cannot be collected without safe and smooth access

It is not reasonable to impose toll until individuals are given uninterrupted, safe, and smooth passage on the highway, the Kerala High Court has held. The court made this ruling by prohibiting toll collection for four weeks on the Edappally-Mannuthy stretch of NH 544.

This was done at a time when numerous petitions were also submitted to the court in reference to this toll collection. It was stated in these petitions that because of the construction activity and the deplorable condition of the service road, there is a jam on that section in large numbers. Because of this, people are in tremendous trouble.

A division bench of Justice A Muhammad Mustaq and Harishankar V Menon said that it is the responsibility of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to maintain smooth traffic on the roads. The court said, "If the trust of the public is broken, then the right to collect tolls under the law cannot be imposed on the public."

NHAI argued in the court that toll collection is done under a contract, and stopping it can give rise to legal complications. But the court rejected this argument and said that if the public is not getting full facilities of the highway in return for that toll, then the toll cannot be collected only on the basis of the contract.

The court also said that toll collection is not only based on contract, but there is also a public service objective behind it. If that objective is not being fulfilled, then there is no moral or legal basis for collecting tolls.

The court said that it is the responsibility of the government to keep the interests of the people paramount in every public project. Even if there is an agreement with a private company, the government cannot escape its basic responsibility. He said, "If NHAI or its agents are not able to provide the public with the facility to travel on the highway without interruption, then it is against the legitimate expectations of the public."

While hearing the petitions filed against toll collection on NH 544, the court said that NHAI has ignored the complaints of the public. The court said that since February 2025, information about these problems had been given to NHAI. But they did not take any concrete steps towards resolving the issue with the central government.

The court also said that the management capacity of the government is questioned in this entire matter, and the central government should intervene in such cases. The court made it clear that only the Center has the right to reduce toll rates or suspend toll collection in such a situation.