News

Right to Collect Toll Contingent on Providing Motorable Roads

The Hon’ble High Court of Kerala, in the case of Shaji J Kodankadath v Union of India (2025 SCC OnLine Ker 4908), dated July 9, 2025, held that the persistent failure of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to maintain safe and motorable road conditions along NH-544 warranted judicial scrutiny of its entitlement to collect toll. Emphasising that the statutory right to levy tolls is accompanied by a corresponding duty to ensure unobstructed and safe travel.

The petitioner, a resident of Thrissur, had approached the court complaining of severe traffic congestion, hazardous road conditions, and public inconvenience resulting from uncoordinated construction activities in the vicinity of the Paliyekkara toll plaza on NH-544. On the basis of directions issued by the Court, reports were filed by the District Collector, Regional Transport Officer, Joint Director of Panchayat, and the District Police Chief, all of which painted a consistent and alarming picture of infrastructural collapse and administrative neglect.

It emerged that the simultaneous execution of multiple underpasses by the same contractor, undertaken without proper planning or traffic assessments, had caused severe congestion. The stretch experienced a daily traffic volume exceeding 45,000 vehicles, a substantial portion being heavy commercial traffic, which was diverted through inadequately designed service and panchayat roads. These roads were narrow, poorly maintained, and featured unsafe merging points with the main carriageway, giving rise to serious safety concerns. Inadequate drainage and the absence of essential traffic management measures such as signage and barricading further compounded the risk of accidents and public hardship. Despite repeated directions, NHAI failed to carry out even basic repairs or safety measures, drawing sharp criticism from the court.

The Court came to the considered conclusion that the NHAI had failed in its statutory and fiduciary obligations. It emphasised that the right to collect tolls is grounded in statute but is not absolute. Commuters pay tolls on the strength of public trust, which creates a reciprocal obligation on the part of the authority to maintain road conditions that are motorable and safe. The continued collection of tolls in the face of such gross deficiency in public service delivery amounted to an abdication of that duty. The Court observed that the nature of the obstruction is immaterial if the systemic issues persist and indicated that suspension of toll collection would be a natural consequence of sustained non-compliance. The Court directed the NHAI to show cause as to why suspension of toll collection should not be ordered by the next date of hearing.

Subsequently, on July 16, 2025, the Bench directed that the matter be placed before the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala, noting that a parallel public interest litigation (PIL) in the case of O.J. Janeesh v. Union of India (WP(PIL) NO. 35 OF 2025) on the same issue was already pending consideration before his Bench.

This matter is currently pending before the Court.

This judgment reaffirms that statutory rights like toll collection are subject to public trust, and failure to uphold corresponding duties can justify judicial intervention.