Supreme Court Stays Toll Suspension on NH-38

In a recent development, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in the case of V. Balakrishnan v. The General Manager (T), National Highways Authority of India & Ors., (Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s). 16474/2025), dated June 9, 2025, has stayed the operation of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Madurai Bench of the Hon’ble Madras High Court in the case of V. Balakrishnan v. The General Manager (T), National Highways Authority of India & Ors., (2025:MHC:1264), dated June 3, 2025, thereby permitting, for the time being, the continued collection of toll on the Madurai–Tuticorin stretch of NH-38.

The writ petition before the High Court had been filed by V. Balakrishnan, a road user, seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus to direct the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to take appropriate action against the concessionaire, Madurai-Tuticorin Expressway Ltd., for alleged mismanagement of funds allocated for planting saplings under a Termination Agreement, and to restrain toll collection on the said highway in light of its admittedly poor condition. The petitioner contended that the highway was not maintained as per the prescribed standards and that the continued collection of tolls from road users without ensuring basic maintenance was arbitrary and impermissible. Accepting this contention, the High Court held that NHAI could not collect toll from users of the Madurai–Tuticorin NH-38 until such time as the road was re-laid or maintained in accordance with the applicable standards under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988. The court, however, clarified that toll collection could resume once the road was restored to the required standard.

Aggrieved by the said judgment, NHAI preferred a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court, which was heard on June 9, 2025. Upon hearing the counsel for the petitioners, the Supreme Court issued, in the interim, a stay of the operation of the High Court’s judgment. As a result, NHAI is, for the present, not restrained from collecting toll on the said highway stretch.

The matter remains pending before the Supreme Court, and the final outcome will determine the legality of toll collection vis-à-vis the condition of the underlying infrastructure.