Karnataka High Court takes suo motu cognisance of issues cropped up from toll collection on new Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway

Court takes note of issues based on news reports; directs NHAI to respond on various complaints of motorists reported in newspapers

The High Court of Karnataka took suo motu cognisance of various issues that cropped up due to commencement of toll collection on the newly-constructed Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, and directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to respond to these issues within three weeks.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Ashok S Kinagi took note of the issues acting on reports published in various daily newspapers, including The Hindu, highlighting the issues raised by commuters and the situation at the toll booths on the expressway.

The cognisance of the issues was taken during the hearing of a PIL petition, filed in 2022 on lack of proper signage and safety measures in the ongoing work of widening the National Highway (NH) stretch between Bengaluru and Kanakapura.

The bench noted that newspaper reports on the expressway toll collection row have pointed out issues like commencement of toll collection without completion of entire construction work on the expressway stretch between Bengaluru and Mysuru; improper functioning of boom barriers causing minor damages to vehicles at toll booths; and technical glitches in automatic Fastag scanners forcing the toll gate staff to use manual scanners.

Also, the bench noted from newspaper reports that due to fault in the Fastag system, several commuters were forced to shift to service roads resulting in them spending more time for travel.

Pre-requisites to toll collection