Supreme Court's "2-Hour Rain Paralyses Delhi" Remark In Kerala Highway Case

Heavy rain in Delhi last week caused waterlogging and chaos on the roads, once again exposing the vulnerability of the capital. The city becomes paralysed if it rains for two hours, remarked Chief Justice of India BR Gavai at a recent hearing, while a colleague commented on a Kerala instance that travellers must be compensated if they are stuck in a jam for 12 hours on a national highway.

The observations were made during a recent hearing on the Paliyakkara toll plaza in Thrissur district, which was ordered by the Kerala High Court to stop collecting toll due to the poor condition of the Edappally-Mannuthy section of NH-544.

The order was challenged by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

The Supreme Court has reserved its order, but the comments made by a bench of CJI Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria illustrated the frustration of the travellers.

During the hearing, the bench pointed to a newspaper report on a 12-hour jam occurring on the highway in Kerala and wondered why one should pay toll after spending 12 hours to reach one end of the road from another. Representing the NHAI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta called it "an act of God". A truck had overturned, he submitted.

The truck didn't overturn on its own; it had overturned after falling into a pit, replied Justice Chandran, pointing to the poor condition of the road. In his defence, Mr Mehta said service roads offer alternate routes at places where underpasses are being constructed, but the construction work was affected due to the monsoon.

The Chief Justice then enquired about the toll charge for the 65-km stretch in question. On being informed that it is Rs 150, he asked why a person should pay Rs 150 as toll if he needs 12 hours to cover a road that would have taken only one hour without traffic.

The Solicitor General then pointed out a previous judgment that said instead of refunding the toll, the charges should be reduced proportionately. In a light-hearted response, Justice Chandran said that for 12 hours, the NHAI should rather compensate the traveller.

"If there is no traffic, it will take a maximum of one hour to cover this part. If there is traffic, it will take a maximum of three hours. There is no question of proportionate reduction for 12 hours," the court said.

Lawyers appearing in the case also cited a local incident - it takes about an hour to reach the court through the E Gate, which is always congested. Responding to their concern, the CJI remarked, "In Delhi, you know what happens...if it rains for two hours, the entire city gets paralysed".

The Kerala High Court had on August 6 ordered the suspension of toll collection for four weeks on NH-544. Challenging it, Mr Mehta had argued that the court "wrongly allowed the contractor company to recover damages from NHAI." He said that under their contract, the responsibility for road maintenance lies with the contractor.

During the August 14 hearing, the top court also expressed reluctance to interfere with the Kerala High Court's order. Instead of wasting time by filing appeals, the NHAI must do something about the poor condition of the road, the court had said, pointing out that even ambulances face trouble during such congestions.