- By Kanika Sachdeva
- Thu, 21 Aug 2025 02:41 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Supreme Court to NHAI: In a setback to NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), a three-judge Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, which also included Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, has upheld the Kerala High Court’s order bringing relief to daily commuters plying on roads with potholes and poor stretches.
'In fact, some payment has to be made by NHAI to commuters for their patience and the fuel they lost in the traffic block…,' said Justice K Vinod Chandran, in reference to a stretch on National Highway 544 in Kerala. 'It [overturning of the truck] was not an act of God but fell into a pothole. The road is in such a state of disrepair,' said Justice Chandran in a counter-argument to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Appearing for NHAI, Tushar Mehta had said, 'The block had been caused by an overturned truck.'
Kerala High Court's August 6 Judgement: Background
In its judgement on August 16, the High Court of Kerala announced the suspension the toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza, along the Edappally–Mannuthy stretch of NH-544 in Thrissur district, for four weeks, remarking that user fees cannot be collected when highways are poorly shaped, leading to traffic snarls, delays, and fuel wastage.
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CJI to NHAI: Why Should a Person Pay Rs 150 Waiting in Prolonged Traffic Jams?
Moreover, CJI reportedly raised a pertinent question, 'Why should a person pay ₹150 if it takes 12 hours to get from one end of the road to the other end? A road which is expected to take one hour takes 11 more hours, and they have to pay a toll as well.'
In addition to a plea from NHAI, the Supreme Court was also hearing a plea from the concessionaire Guruvayoor Infrastructure, which claimed that it was 'not at all' responsible for the present deadlock since the work on the 'black spots' was contracted by NHAI to another contractor.