India, Aug. 15 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for collecting toll from commuters despite unfinished roadworks and chronic traffic snarls, asking why citizens should be made to pay for poor infrastructure.

"Roads are in such bad condition.You are collecting toll but where are the roads? How do you start collecting tolls even without completing the roads?" a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran remarked, while hearing NHAI's appeal against an August 6 Kerala high court order suspending toll collection at the Paliyekkara toll plaza for four weeks.

The high court had castigated NHAI for "total apathy" in addressing public grievances ove...