Patna High Court - Orders
Vikas Kumar (Nh-30- Ara- Mohania Pkg- I ... vs The Union Of India on 30 January, 2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.2921 of 2022
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Vikas Kumar (NH-30- Ara- Mohania pkg- I and II)
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The Union of India
... ... Respondent/s
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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Vikas Kumar (In Person)
For the State : Mr. Anjani Kumar, AAG-4
Mr. Alok Rahi AC to AAG-4
For the NHAI : Mr.Dr. K.N. Singh, Sr. Advocate
Mr. Sanat Kumar Mishra, Advocate
For the Railways : Mr. Amish Kumar, Advocate
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CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BIBEK CHAUDHURI
ORAL ORDER
(Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE)
19 30-01-2026As per the order dated 09.01.2026, counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent no. 6 by one Amrit Raj Bandhu, Additional District Land Acquisition Officer, Buxar, wherein, it has been stated in paragraph nos. 7 and 8 as follows:-
"7. That in view of the said direction, the Joint Team of the A.D.L.A.O., Buxar has submitted spot inspection report dated24.01.2026 (Annexure-A Series) along with photographs wherein it has been stated that the work under Mohaniya) in the Ν.Η.-30 (Ara Buxar District has been completed and the movement on the said Patna High Court CWJC No.2921 of 2022(19) dt.30-01-2026 2/6 road is in progress. There is no hindrance or obstacle in traffic on the said road.
8. That in light of the aforesaid report, it is apparent that the work on the said road under Buxar District has been completed and there is no problem/hindrance the said road."
2. However, from the 8th supplementary counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent no. 3-NHAI, it is mentioned in paragraph no. 3 as follows:-
"3. That the Project has been completed.
The main carriage way, service roads wherever desired and bridges have already completed. The completion certificates have been issued by the concerned authority. However, stretch of 4.5 Km has been de-scoped and is being dealt separately with a separate agreement between NHAI and EPC Contractor."
3. Dr. K.N. Singh, learned senior counsel appearing for the NHAI submits that for the 4.5 Km patch of land, a tender is likely to be floated and the matter may be taken up after two weeks so that he can apprise this Court about the development in that respect.
4. At this juncture, Mr. P.K. Shahi, learned Advocate General submitted that there is no proper mechanism to control the plying of overloaded trucks in the NHAI and there is no Weighbridge provided which is causing damage to the Patna High Court CWJC No.2921 of 2022(19) dt.30-01-2026 3/6 bridges and recently it has been found that in some bridges cracks have developed and for this problem, movement of the vehicles have been stopped in some of the bridges.
5. We have duly considered the submissions made by the learned Advocate General.
6. There cannot be any second thought on the issue that in order to protect the lifespan of the National Highways, Weighbridges are essential tools for measuring vehicle weights to ensure compliance with load limits. Setting up of weighbridges leads to several key benefits, like, infrastructure protection, safety improvement, costs and time savings, compliance and enforcement of legal weight limits, if a carriage is found to be over-loaded. The excessive weight causes rapid pavement wear, leading to cracks, pot-holes, ruts and subsidence. A truck over-loaded by just 10 per cent can reduce pavement life by 30-50 per cent, increasing repair costs borne by tax payers.
Overloads induce fatigue damage, cracking and structural stresses, potentially leading to collapse in extreme cases. All these shorten the life span of the bridge by exceeding design limits for bending, shear and fatigue stresses, especially on older infrastructure.
Patna High Court CWJC No.2921 of 2022(19) dt.30-01-2026 4/6 On broader aspect, an overloading contributes to vehicle instability, higher accident risk and environmental issues like increased emissions from inefficient transport, disruption of fair market competition and increase in overall maintenance cost of the highways, roads and bridges as well as vehicles.
7. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to set up and introduce Pre-bridge Load Control Measures, as, for example, mandatory check-posts before bridges, diversion of heavy vehicles to by-pass routes, where bridge capacity is limited, and time slot restrictions for heavy trucks on old bridges.
While the above-mentioned jobs can be done by the Transport Department of the State, a policy decision is required to be made by the NHAI to construct by-pass routes for over- loaded vehicles for protection of bridges on national highways.
8. Another important suggestion is to introduce Buzzer System on the strategic points of highways, especially on the road, immediately leading to a bridge to identify over- loaded vehicle before it plies through the bridges on the highways. The Buzzer System calculates weight in real time. If the weight exceeds the maximum authorized limit, a visual warning and an audible buzzer triggers inside the cabin before the vehicle starts moving.
Patna High Court CWJC No.2921 of 2022(19) dt.30-01-2026 5/6
9. We are, therefore, constrained to make above observations in the form of suggestions, because we are anxious to protect the condition and lifespan of the National Highways and the bridges thereon, especially when it is submitted by the learned Advocate General that two bridges on the National Highways in question are closed due to plying of over-loaded trucks.
10. We hope and trust that NHAI shall work in tandem with the State authorities and introduce all modern techniques, like, setting up of weighbridges, mandatory checking of over-loaded vehicles before it is driven through the highways and the bridges, and setting up of automatic buzzer system under the road, leading to the bridges to detect over- loaded vehicles and if possible, to construct by-passes for the heavy and over loaded vehicles for protection of the bridges on the Highways.
11. Considering all such aspect of the matter, let the learned counsel for the State so also the learned counsel for the NHAI obtain specific instructions and file an affidavit before the next date of hearing stating as to what provisions have been made to check the plying of the overloaded trucks and availability of the weighbridge at appropriate places for Patna High Court CWJC No.2921 of 2022(19) dt.30-01-2026 6/6 preventing damage to the structure of the bridges.
12. List this matter on 20.02.2026.
A copy of the order be handed over to the learned counsel for the State and learned counsel for the NHAI.
(Sangam Kumar Sahoo, CJ) (Bibek Chaudhuri, J) ranjan/-
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