The Supreme Court has stayed the operation of an interim order passed by the Madras High Court which had restrained the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from collecting user fees at the Ammapettai toll plaza on the Thoppur–Mettur–Bhavani–Erode stretch of NH-544H.

A Bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan issued notice in the Special Leave Petition filed by NHAI and directed that there shall be an interim stay of the impugned High Court order pending disposal of the writ petitions.

The High Court, by its order dated 23 March 2026, had directed suspension of toll collection while calling for an expert inspection by IIT Madras to ascertain whether the highway had in fact been upgraded from a two-lane road to a two-lane road with paved shoulders. The direction came in petitions filed by an AIADMK MLA and a lorry owners’ association, who had challenged the levy of toll on the ground that no substantial infrastructure development had been carried out.

Before the Supreme Court, NHAI contended that the project was a public-funded highway upgrade completed at a cost exceeding ₹240 crore, and that toll collection was being undertaken strictly in terms of statutory notifications issued under the National Highways Act and the Fee Rules. It was further argued that the High Court’s blanket restraint on toll collection, without a finding of illegality, resulted in significant loss of public revenue.

Accepting the plea at the interim stage, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court’s directions, thereby permitting continuation of toll collection at the plaza. The matter will be considered further after responses are filed.

Appearances:

For Petitioner(s) : Mr Tushar Mehta, SG; Mr. Nishant Awana, AOR (Arguing Counsel); Ms. Nitya Sharma, Adv.; Ms. Rini Badoni, Adv.