New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway will be toll-free, a decision which will benefit lakhs of people who commute daily on the flyway. A bench led by Justice Surya Kant junked a plea by a private firm challenging the 2016 decision of the Allahabad High Court order. The high court had asked it to stop collecting tolls from commuters. The high court had passed the order on a plea filed by the Federation of Noida Resident Welfare Association.
The bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, held that awarding a contract to private firm Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd (NTBCL) to collect toll from commuters plying on the DND flyway was unjust, unfair and arbitrary. The apex court said the general public has been forced to part with hundreds of crores and they have been defrauded. The bench said there is no reason for the collection of user fees to continue. The apex court upheld the high court’s observation that the company had recovered returns, interest, and cost incurred on the construction of the DND flyway, and therefore, the company is not entitled to receive any more money.
The apex court said that there was no merit in the company's appeal against the high court order. The apex court pulled up the NOIDA authorities for delegating toll collection to private firm NTBCL, which did not have any prior experience. The bench noted that it has resulted in unjust enrichment at the cost of public suffering and added that the NOIDA overstepped its authority by delegating the powers to the private company to collect or levy fees. The detailed judgment in the case will be uploaded later in the day.
