The DND flyway connecting Delhi and Noida will remain toll-free for commuters for the days to come. The Supreme Court has upheld the decision of the Allahabad High Court in this regard. In 2016, the Allahabad High Court banned toll collection on the DND flyway. Now, the Supreme Court has also said that the agreement with the DND toll bridge company was such that it couldn’t always keep collecting tolls. The HC did the right thing by removing it, the Supreme Court said.
While hearing the case against NOIDA Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the general public had been defrauded of several hundred crores by the company.
SC’s Decision After 8 Years
In its decision on October 26, 2016, the Allahabad High Court struck off the toll on the DND, saying that the (NTBCL) had already earned the amount as per the contract it entered with the government. The Allahabad High Court had immediately stopped toll collection on the DND.
However, the toll company appealed to the Supreme Court against the order, but the bench headed by the then Chief Justice T S Thakur refused to stay the order of the high court. Now, the bench headed by Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court has delivered the final decision on the matter.
The Supreme Court has said that the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations, which filed the petition in the High Court, had the right to do so in the public interest. The court slammed the Noida Authority and said that it entered such an agreement with the toll bridge company, which enabled the company to collect tolls for eternity. Due to the long-term toll collection, several hundred crores of rupees have been fraudulently collected from the common people, the SC said.
The Supreme Court also said that the selection of NTBCL during the tendering process was illegal. It said that the process violated Article 14 due to the absence of no competitive bidding or tender process was conducted. Thus, the contract was arbitrary and unjust.
‘DND Flyway Advertisement Dispute Matter For Separate Forum’
The Supreme Court said that after the opening of the DND (Delhi Noida Direct) flyway in 2001, the toll company had earned huge profits by 2016. Now, it cannot get the right to collect tolls from the common people again. However, according to the contract, the company will have to continue to maintain the road for the time being.
The Supreme Court has not commented on the dispute between the Noida Authority and the NTBCL regarding the advertising rights on the bridge. The court has said that both parties should settle the dispute at the appropriate legal forum.
‘Did You Build A Road To The Moon?’
During the hearing in 2016, the Supreme Court pulled up the NTBCL for the exorbitant amount it had collected. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for the company, was repeatedly describing the DND Flyway as the “best highway in the country”. At this, the then Chief Justice, T S Thakur, had said, “This is only a 10 km road. You are talking as if you have built a road to the moon.”
The court also rejected Singhvi’s demand that the company be allowed to collect tolls until the accounts are audited. Singhvi said that if it is found in two months that the company was right, will it chase the people who passed for free during this period? At this, the then Chief Justice had said, “What will happen if you are allowed to collect toll and later you are proven wrong? Will you chase people and return their money?”
