New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS): Delhi High Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre through the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRT&H) regarding a rule and circular that requires commuters without a functional FASTag to pay double toll tax.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad issued a notice and gave four weeks to the government to produce an affidavit.

The matter will now be heard on April 18, 2023.

Lawyer Ravinder Tyagi filed a PIL, claiming that the government's rules and decisions are unfair, arbitrary, and against the public interest.

Tyagi has challenged the second proviso to sub-rule (3) of Rule 6 of the National Highway Fees (Determination of Rates and Collection) Amendment Rules, 2020 as well as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways letters dated July 19, 2019 and February 16, 2021, and the NHAI circular of March 3, 2021.

The argument made in the petition is that the government has put irrational limitations on the movement of people and things across the nation that have nothing to do with the goal being pursued.

The plea read: "It is also submitted that administrative convenience (of collection of the toll fees through online mechanism) of the state cannot be a ground for discrimination. It is also submitted that any convenience of the state cannot be a ground for discrimination of the nature imposed by the rule and impugned orders/circulars/notifications."

It added that there is no justification for collecting twice as much from people who pay in cash because the services provided to commuters by the NHAI and the MoRT&H are the same.

"Authorities, ought to have, kept at least 50 per cent, 25 per cent of the toll gates are cash/FASTag and balance as FASTag only. It is submitted that by this methodology, the issue of seamless travel would have been addressed, without creating the present situation," it stated.