DND flyway to remain toll free for now, says Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant an interim stay against an Allahabad high court ruling that stopped the collection of toll on the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) expressway.

A bench comprising chief justice T.S. Thakur, and justices D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao heard an appeal filed by Noida Toll Bridge Company Limted (NTBCL), the concessionaire for the DND flyway.

“There is no need to stay the high court ruling. If you win the case, then we’ll extend the contract to cover the losses you incur,” the court told the company.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of NTBCL asked the court to order an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India to check the gains the company has made.

On 26 October, justices Arun Tandon and Sunita Agrawal of the Allahabad high court, in a 121-page ruling, had said the levy of the toll on the 9.2 km eight-lane expressway was “unfair and unjust” and that the users and commuters were being illegally taxed.

The court also declared the clause allowing Noida Toll Bridge to collect toll as inoperative and bad in law. It said that method of calculating the total project cost of the expressway was arbitrary and against public policy.

Noida Toll Bridge had recovered Rs810.18 crore from toll income since the commencement of the expressway till 31 March 2014. Approximately Rs300 crore more was realized through user fee or toll between 1 April 2014 and 30 September 2016, the high court noted.

The apex court is likely to pass an order on 7 November.