The Supreme Court docket on Friday dismissed a overview petition filed by the Noida Toll Bridge Firm Restricted (NTBCL), reaffirming its December 2024 determination that the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) Flyway should stay toll-free. The courtroom rejected NTBCL’s request for reconsideration with a terse remark: “You have minted enough.”
The courtroom rejected NTBCL’s request for reconsideration with a terse remark: “You have minted enough.” (HT Archive)
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the overview petition in open courtroom and upheld its earlier discovering that NTBCL had recovered its venture prices, earned vital income, and was not entitled to gather toll from commuters.
The corporate had approached the courtroom difficult the December 20, 2024 verdict, which had upheld the Allahabad excessive courtroom’s 2016 ruling directing the cessation of toll assortment. The Supreme Court docket had then made scathing observations towards NTBCL and its director, Pradeep Puri, noting that the corporate had exaggerated venture prices and generated extreme income on the public’s expense.
“This case was an eyeopener for us. You have minted enough. Review is dismissed,” the bench mentioned.
The courtroom’s 2024 order relied closely on a report by the Comptroller and Auditor Normal (CAG), which discovered that the corporate had defrauded the general public underneath the pretext of offering infrastructure. “An exhaustive reading of the CAG Report highlights the extent to which the public has been defrauded,” the courtroom had mentioned. “The general public has been forced to part with hundreds of crores by IL&FS and NTBCL… with the collusion of officers from two state governments and NOIDA, who turned a blind eye.”
Senior advocate Aman Hingorani, showing for NTBCL, argued in the course of the overview that the unique judgment did not report CAG findings beneficial to the corporate. The courtroom, nonetheless, declined to revisit the findings in a overview continuing.
A separate overview plea was filed by Pradeep Puri, a former bureaucrat and NTBCL director, looking for expungement of crucial remarks on his function. The courtroom rejected this as nicely, stating that each one findings about his conduct stemmed immediately from the CAG report.
In its December ruling, the courtroom had remarked: “Pradeep Puri, designated as the Director of NTBCL, did not perform any substantive function; nevertheless, all expenses associated with his role, including his hefty remuneration, were incorporated into the total project cost.”
The CAG audit revealed questionable expenditures included authorized charges value ₹11 crore, journey prices of ₹4 crore, and ₹33 crore spent on restructuring deep low cost bonds. NTBCL additionally incurred ₹72.25 lakh on “corporate gifts,” together with gold cash distributed to workers, drivers, and sub-staff.
In accordance with CAG, NTBCL’s toll earnings from 2001 to 2016 stood at ₹892.51 crore. The corporate made constant income, cleared all money owed with curiosity, and paid out ₹243.07 crore in dividends to shareholders. “NTBCL has thus, by March 31, 2016, recovered the project costs, the maintenance costs, and a significant profit on its initial investment,” the courtroom had noticed. “There is no rhyme or reason for the collection of tolls to continue.”
The DND Flyway was developed by a tripartite settlement between NTBCL, Noida, and Infrastructure Leasing and Monetary Providers Restricted (IL&FS). Below the Concession Settlement, NTBCL was granted the precise to levy tolls. Nevertheless, the Allahabad excessive courtroom, after reviewing the settlement, discovered its provisions legally untenable and ordered NTBCL to cease accumulating tolls. The Supreme Court docket endorsed this, additional holding that Noida had overstepped its authority by delegating toll-levying powers to a personal entity.
The matter had been dropped at courtroom by the Federation of Noida Residents, who challenged NTBCL’s continued toll assortment. With Friday’s ruling, the highest courtroom has now shut the door on additional toll restoration from commuters on the DND Flyway.