ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has put a brake on the National Highway Authority’s plan to slap an extra 50 percent toll on vehicles that don’t have an M-Tag or are running low on M-Tag balance, suspending the controversial notification till the next date of hearing.
Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir, hearing the case, issued notices to the NHA and other respondents and asked them to file their replies before the court takes the matter up again.
Advocate Muhammad Jalal Haider, representing the petitioner, argued that the NHA had no legal basis to impose such a surcharge in the first place. He told the court that the authority had gone ahead and notified the 50 percent additional charge on May 30, 2025, hitting motorists who either didn’t have an M-Tag installed or didn’t have enough balance loaded on it.
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Under Section 10 of the NHA Act, the counsel contended, the authority’s mandate is limited to collecting toll fees — nothing in the law gives it the power to penalize commuters this way. He asked the court to strike down the notification as unconstitutional, arguing it runs afoul of Articles 4, 18, 24 and 25 of the Constitution, and to order the NHA to return every rupee collected from motorists under this policy so far.
The petition, filed by Yahya Farid Khawaja, has named the Ministry of Communications, the NHA, and other concerned authorities as respondents. Besides seeking a refund, the petitioner has also asked the court to summon complete details of how the NHA manages and implements its M-Tag balance system, so the matter can be examined threadbare.
The court will take up the case again on the next hearing, once replies from the NHA and other respondents are on record.
