Supreme Court Voids Toll Contract for DND Flyway

The Supreme Court invalidated a private contract for toll collection on the DND Flyway, ruling it unfairly enriched the private entity and did not serve public interest. The court emphasized the need for fairness and transparency in government dealings and criticized the lack of competitive bidding.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has scrapped a private company's contract for toll collection on the DND flyway, asserting that government policies aimed at public interest should not merely benefit private firms. The ruling affects hundreds of thousands of commuters between Delhi and Noida daily.

The bench, including Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, upheld a previous Allahabad High Court decision from 2016, rejecting Noida Toll Bridge Company Ltd's appeal. The court censured the contract as unfair and inconsistent with constitutional norms, highlighting the need for government actions to genuinely serve public interest over private profit.

Further, the court highlighted the lack of competitive bidding, stating that the agreement with NTBCL did not include a public tender or transparent procedure. The court noted the significant oversight by Noida and IL&FS in assigning the project to NTBCL, a company established post the original agreement, labelling this as a breach of Article 14 of the Constitution.

(With inputs from agencies.)