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Kerala High Court's decision - Toll fee cannot be collected without safe and smooth access
Toll Tax: In an important decision, the Kerala High Court has said that it is not justified to collect toll until people are provided with uninterrupted, safe, and smooth access on the highway.
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."
