( 1 ). IN this petition for a writ of certiorari, the petitioner company calls in question the legality of a demand raised by the respondents for the recovery of what is described as undercharge in connection with certain consignments transported by the railways. The facts giving rise to the filing of this petition are few and may be summarised as under :

( 2 ). The petitioner company is engaged in the manufacture of Pig Iron at Raipur in the State of Chattisgarh. The stocks so manufactured are transported by rail and/or by road from Raipur to various distributors and customers all over the country. The respondents have provided a dedicated railway siding in the proximity of the petitioner s plants at Siltara known as nackast railway siding under the Mandhar railway station. For the transport of goods by rail, the petitioner places an indent upon the station Superintendent, Mandhar station for carriage to various destinations. A railway receipt indicating the freight charges is issued to the petitioner which the petitioner is required to pay before the goods are loaded in the wagons. The charges are determined on the basis of what is called wagon load facility or train load facility . In the case of wagon load facility, the charges are calculated on the number of wagons to be transported to a particular destination. In the case of train load facility, the entire rake consisting of a much larger number of wagons is transported at the request of the customer. This facility can, according to the petitioner, be availed for one destination or a combination of two destinations subject to the approval of the Railways Authorities.

( 3 ) IN the month of August-September, 1998, the petitioner appears to have approached the Station Superintendent, Mandhar for transport of goods to Delhi Kishan Ganj and Ghaziabad by two point train load facility and to Ludhiana and Jalandhar separately also by a similar facility. A letter dated 11th September, 1998 requesting respondent No. 6 to arrange the supply of 58 N-boxes two point rake with train load facility to transport 29 boxes to Delhi ishan Ganj and another 29 boxes to ghaziabad was submitted to the Station Superintendent, South-Eastern railway, Mandhar. In response to the said letter, the Station Superintendent issued a communication dated 11th September, 1998 informing the petitioner that its request for 29 N-box to Delhi Kishan Ganj and 29 N-box to Ghaziabad via KMZ, TKD had been accepted and the rake placed in the petitioner s railway siding for loading purposes. The petitioner appears to have paid a sum of Rs. 39,02,025/- as freight charges in terms of railway receipts issued in its favour. The cargo was accordingly loaded and transported by the railways to his destination at Delhi Kishan Ganj and ghaziabad and released at the said stations without any objection.

( 4 ) BY another letter dated 23rd September, 1998, a similar request, it appears, was made by the petitioner for a similar two point rake with 33 boxes for Dhandhari Kalan (Ludhiana) and 25 boxes for Kartarpur, jalandhar with train load facility. The freight indicated on the RR was deposited arid the consignment transported and delivered at the destination without any objection.

( 5 ) A third consignment was similarly transported to Dhandhari kalan and Kartarpur on payment of the freight charges indicated in the railway receipts issued by the respondents.

( 6 ) THREE years after the transportation of the goods, the respondents raised a claim for further payment on the ground that the two point train load facility availed of by the petitioner was not permissible and that the petitioner company was liable to pay freight charges calculated on wagon load basis. The petitioner was accordingly directed to deposit the amount undercharged from it, failing which the railways threatened to exercise its lien over the petitioner s goods in terms of Section 83 and 84 of the Indian railways Act. Aggrieved by the