Judgment

M. Jagannadha Rao, J.-Leave granted in S.L.P. (C) No. 7766 of 1994.

2. These Civil Appeals and Transferred Cases raise common questions and can be disposed of together. The Civil Appeals arise out of judg­ments of the High Court of Allahabad and Rajasthan High Court. The transferred cases arise from the Delhi High Court and from the Rail­way Claims Tribunal (Lucknow Bench). Counsel have referred to the documents contained in T.C. No. 47 of 1997 (Eastern Coalfield Ltd. v. Ashoka Silicate & Glass Works, Delhi) for convenience, apart from the pleadings and documents in the other paper books. T.C. No. 47 of 1997, referred to above, is a case filed as C.W.P. No. 864 of 1985 in the Delhi High Court and transferred to this Court by virtue of orders in T.P. (C) No. 713 of 1995. On transfer it was numbered in this Court as T.C. No. 47 of 1997.

3. The broad facts in all the cases are similar. The appellants/peti­tioners are all consignees of coal from the collieries. The issue relates to the right of the Railways to recover ‘penal charges’ relating to overloading of coal in goods wagons beyond the ‘permissi­ble carrying capacity’ of each wagon, from the consignees. While the Railways