Toll Already Collected Will Be Impossible To Return To Road Users: SC Allows NHAI To Utilise Toll Collected From ‘Provisionally Completed’ Muzaffarpur-Sonbarsa Highway
The Supreme Court has allowed NHAI to utilise the toll collected from the provisionally completed Muzaffarpur-Sonbarsa section of National Highway-77 observing that the toll already collected will be impossible to return to the road users.
The Court set aside a High Court's judgment that directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to not levy and collect any fee from the users at Runni Toll Plaza on the Muzaffarpur-Sonbarsa section of National Highway-77. NHAI had challenged the decision to not levy any fee in exercise of its power under Rule 3(1) of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008 (Rules) till the completion of the highway project.
A Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice R. Mahadevan observed, “The toll/fee, having been collected and being available in the bank, today, it will be impossible to return the same to the road users. Any order passed by this Court, modifying the interim order, would in fact, be detrimental and harmful to the road users as additional amounts would have to be collected to make up for the cost of the highway.”
Advocate Neetica Sharma appeared for the appellants, while Sr. Advocate Dharnidhar Jha represented the respondents.
The Court noted that “Rule 3(1) of the 2008 Rules, which refers to the section of the national highway being complete and, thereupon, the highway users can be asked to pay the prescribed fee by way of toll.”
An independent contractor, Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats Pvt. Ltd., had issued a provisional completion certificate in 2015.
The Bench stated that tolls had been collected by NHAI based on the completed portions of the highway under a "Build, Operate, and Transfer" basis, with the contractor being paid an annuity. The toll collection was necessary to recover the capital costs, with a provision to reduce the toll fee to 40% once these costs were recovered.
“The NHAI collects the toll till the actual costs are recovered with a stipulation that after recovery of the capital cost the fee leviable would be reduced to 40% of the user fee.” the Bench explained.
The Court set aside the order of the High Court and observed that the Union of India and NHAI can examine the question as to whether the expression “section of national highway” required proper elucidation and clarification in a manner permitted by law.
Consequently, the Court ordered, “The amount lying deposited in the nationalized bank along with interest may now be utilized by NHAI and would be treated as toll/fee collected from the users. It will be accounted towards the actual cost to be recovered.”
Accordingly, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal
Cause Title: Chairman, National Highways Authority Of India & Anr. v. Arvind Kumar Thakur & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 556)
Appearance:
Appellants: Advocates Neetica Sharma and Tavinder Sidhu
Respondents: Sr. Advocate Dharnidhar Jha; AOR Govind Jee; Advocates Rambha Singh, Akhilesh Kumar Mishra and Omanakuttan K.K.