A division bench of chief justice D Y Chandrachud and justice Shree Narain Shukla passed the order on May 12 on a public interest litigation ( PIL )pending since 2013 regarding the repairing and widening the highway.
The court had taken suo motu cognizance of the issue in view of the "pathetic" condition of the road and directed NHAI to construct it properly.
On November 17, 2014, the court recorded the assurances that the work would be completed by March 31,2015, save the three bypasses.
"The material which has been placed on record prima facie indicates that no step has been taken to comply with the solemn assurance which has been tendered to the court on several occasions. The national highway continues to be in a pathetic condition, except for the stretch from Lucknow to Rae Bareli", the court observed.
"In these circumstances, we are constrained to issue a notice to show cause to the Chairperson of National Highway Authority of India to explain as to why steps should not be initiated under the Contempt of Courts Act,1971. The notice shall be made returnable on May 26, 2015", the court said.