National Highways Authority & Anr. vs District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission & Ors.

Chirag Bhanu Singh, Judge (Oral)

The petitioner-NHAI has filed the present petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India impugning the order dated 17.10.2026, passed by the learned District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kangra at Dharamshala, H.P., whereby the petitioner has been restrained from charging the revised user fee in respect of Ghatta fee Plaza.

Though the impugned order is per se liable to be challenged before the H.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by way of an appeal under Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the primary grouse of the petitioner though is that the interim order dated 17.10.2026 has been passed without having heard the petitioner and even without their reply having been filed before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kangra at Dharamshala.

Learned counsel for the petitioner however, would contend that since the H.P. State Consumer Commission is not functioning because of the Dussehra holidays and is likely to resume only on 26.10.2026 and as such till that time the petitioner has been deprived of his statutory remedy of filing an appeal under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

In these peculiar circumstances the petitioner have invoked the writ jurisdiction of this Court, seeking protection in the aforesaid inter-regnum. In this behalf, the learned counsel for the petitioner has also placed reliance upon a judgment of Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court, titled as Vikram Bhawanishankar Sharma versus SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd. and Ors., CWP No.30348/2022 decided on 01.05.2023.

Without going into the merits of the controversy, since the appropriate remedy lies somewhere else, the parties are ordered to be relegated to the statutory commission. The petitioner thus would be free to approach the Commission on the very first day of its opening i.e. 26.10.2026.

It has also been apprised by learned counsel for the petitioner that the revised rates have already come into effect on 01.09.2026, as a sequel the writ petition is disposed off with a direction to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal before the H.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on its opening, if so advised. However, till the time the matter is taken up by the State Commission, the parties shall maintain status quo, as of today qua the user fee at Ghatta fee plaza, vis-a-vis the order passed by the learned District Consumer Commission Kangra at Dharamshala.

The petition is disposed off in the aforesaid terms, so also the pending application(s) if any.