The petitioner complained that he had faced humiliation after he was checked at various toll booths and was asked to pay up. A public interest litigation petition was filed before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday seeking a direction to extend the ‘no toll fee’ benefit granted to customised vehicles driven by differently abled persons to other vehicles that transported such people. The petitioner P. Kumaran is a differently abled person currently working at the Government Law College, Madurai as an Assistant Professor. He said that not all differently abled individuals can have specially customised vehicles and not all can own such vehicles. To accept only customised vehicles for toll fee exemption had a mala fide impact on the interests of the differently abled, besides being a violation of the basic values as enshrined in the Constitution. He further complained that he had faced humiliation after he was checked at various toll booths and was told to pay the toll fee. He said his complaints to the authorities fell on deaf ears and sought direction to the authorities to look into the issue and do the needful. Taking up the plea for hearing, a Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and N. Sathish Kumar directed notice to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways returnable in four weeks. The case has been adjourned for further hearing.

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