The Chairman, National Highways ... vs Arvind Kumar Thakur

The Supreme Court held that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is entitled to levy toll fees under Rule 3(1) of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, for the completed sections of the Muzaffarpur-Sonbarsa section of National Highway-77. The Court found the High Court's direction to cease toll collection unsustainable, emphasizing that the toll collected is necessary to recover costs incurred under the Build, Operate and Transfer model. The judgment clarified that the amount collected is currently held in a nationalized bank and cannot be returned to users, thus allowing NHAI to continue toll collection until costs are recovered.