In this application under Article 226 of the Constitution, the petitioners have sought for a direction on the respondents to refund the punitive charges of Rs. 9,50,114/- recovered from the petitioners for carrying goods in wagons beyond the permissible capacity and for directing the respondents to withdraw the demand of wharfage and demurrage charges and to release the five wagons of coal detained by the respondents for the purpose of realizing the said demurrage and wharfage charges.

2. The facts briefly are that the petitioner No. 1 registered an indent for a rake for despatch of coal from Jogighopa Railway Station. Pursuant to such registration of indent, a rake was placed and the petitioner No. 1 loaded Nangal Dry Coal in 35 wagons on 26-1-97. Since no weigh-bridge was available at Jogighopa Railway Station, the coal was loaded in the said wagons without weighment and a certificate dated 26-1-97 was issued by the Railway-authorities of Jogighopa Railway Station to the effect that measurement of the loaded wagons could not be taken by the supplied measurement rod due to insufficient space inside the wagons between the loadable height and roof of the wagons, but on visu