Judge Refuses To Pay Toll: Toll Booth Employee Teaches Him A Lesson (Video)

The VIP culture is strong in India. Influential and high-ranking officials often enjoy many privileges. Getting to evade tolls, parking fees, and other miscellaneous expenses is one of those. Many such officials have become accustomed to claiming such freebies. The video of a judge refusing to pay tolls at a booth, bringing the vehicles around to a complete halt, is now going viral. Originally shot in 2021, the details of this incident show the unfair privileges enjoyed by influential officials and those in power.

This video was recorded by a CCTV camera installed at a toll plaza located in between Bareilly and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. A Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is seen stopped by the booth. The video has clear audio, likely recorded by a mobile phone. The booth operator can be seen engaging in a conversation with those inside the Ertiga. The MPV reportedly had a district judge inside.

What Really Happened Here?

The Ertiga driver first handed over an identity card to the booth employee. The intention was to make him raise the boom barrier and let the vehicle pass without having to pay, as it was used by the district judge. The operator, however, disagreed to let it pass. The Ertiga refused to pay and remained still. Minutes passed. The toll manager soon came to the scene.

He is seen conversing with the judge, on video. The manager says that the toll cannot be waived off for this judge as per rules. The judge here, belongs to the district court, and toll-free journeys are only for high-court judges or higher ranks. This leads to a long argument between the two.

A truck can be seen waiting behind the Ertiga. The judge's refusal to pay had brought many vehicles to a standstill. At some point in the conversation, the toll manager can be heard mentioning the same. He says that the truck that's waiting behind has very poor mileage, and the judge's act is likely costing it a lot of money.

The government counsel continued to argue over the Rs 80 toll fee, which is in fact, microscopic when compared to his salary. The manager then cited hard facts, pointed out the various unfair privileges enjoyed by those in power, and finally won the argument.

The manager schooled the judge on how he was still bound to pay the toll fee. He even explained to him , the law of this country. The manager asked the judge if he was aware of the laws around toll collection. The judge says he is, and further adds that he is also aware of how judges are exempted from these.

The manager corrects him by saying that those exemptions apply only to high court and supreme court judges. Government counsels, in fact, do not qualify for these. The counsel clarifies by saying that no toll was collected from him when he drove all the way from Madhya Pradesh. The manager did not yield.
He further says that the judge has blocked the lane for the past 10 minutes, and created inconvenience to the public. He should be held accountable for the same.

This video, though old, is now going viral again. Hundreds of users are engaging with it on various social media platforms. Most of these comments show how the public is frustrated with such malpractices by those in power.

Ref: Judge Refuses To Pay Toll: Toll Booth Employee Teaches Him A Lesson (Video)