The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the order of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court under which or was ordered to reduce the toll fee at Lakhanpur and Ban Toll Plaza by 80 per cent on National Highway-44 on Lakhanpur-Udhampur section. The High Court had ordered to reduce the toll and said, if the road situation is bad then it is unfair to collect the toll.
A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan has given this interim order on the appeal filed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) challenging the High Court’s decision. At the same time, the bench has issued a notice to the concerned party in the case and directed to keep the side. The next hearing of the case will be held on 19 May.
Toll fee dispute on National Highway 44
The bench has said in its order, after considering all the facts, we are currently staying the order of the High Court. The High Court, considering a PIL in which the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway was ordered to cut the toll tax of 80 per cent at Lakhanpur and Ban toll plazas till the completion of the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway.
NHAI’s petition and Supreme Court verdict
NH-44 is part of the North-South Corridor and extends from Srinagar to Kanyakumari. The petitioner had said in the High Court that the highway from Udhampur to Lakhanpur was under construction from 2021 and about 70 percent of the blocks remained incomplete. In the petition, it was argued that toll tax should be charged only after completion of construction.
Supreme Court’s big decision in this case
The Supreme Court has given a big decision on the increasing cases of inter -state child trafficking in the country and gave a big decision. The court has canceled the bail of 13 accused. A bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan while delivering the verdict said that his desire for collective call, peace and harmony for justice cannot be insignificant.
The bench also made it clear that there were serious flaws in granting bail to the accused by the Allahabad High Court. Such decisions should not have been taken in such a serious crime. The court termed the nature of the crime very serious. The Supreme Court also directed the states to enroll in schools under the ‘Free and Compulsory Education Right to Children’s Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’ and continue all possible help in their education.