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2023 Supreme(Gau) 985
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI, ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH
DEVASHIS BARUAH, J.
Vinayak Logistic and Another – Petitioners
Versus
The Union of India Represented by Secretary, New Delhi – Respondent
W.P. (C) Nos. 208, 5028 of 2013, W.P. (C) No. 4866 of 2012
Decided On : 07-09-2023
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioners: M. Kalita, A.Z. Hazarika.
For the Respondents: B.N. Gogol, R. Sarma.
Headnote:
Societies Registration Act, 1860 – Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 - Section 34 - Jurisdiction – Three writ petitions are taken up for disposal by this common judgment and order taking into account that challenge made in three writ petitions pertains to Railway Board’s Circular whereby a designated tare weight of wagons were fixed of permissible carrying capacity - Held, although there is an allegation made that it violates Section 34 of Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976, but nothing could be discerned either from pleadings or from submission of counsel for petitioners as to how Section 34 of Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 is violated - Innumerous amount of transportation carried out by Railways, it would be next to impossible to weigh each of empty wagons every time and obtain tare weight and give it for loading - Court that unless serious prejudice is shown to have caused to petitioners on the basis of taking designed tare weight as the bench mark, question of interference with the policy of Railways vide impugned circular cannot be interfered with - Court finds it very pertinent to mention that all three writ petitions have been filed on basis of apprehension and not a single instance has been brought before this Court during the passage of last 10 years when writ petitions have been pending which have resulted in causing serious prejudice in view of designed tare weight being taken as a bench mark - Writ petitions dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
DEVASHIS BARUAH, J.
1. The three writ petitions are taken up for disposal by this common judgment and order taking into account that the challenge made in the three writ petitions pertains to the Railway Board’s Circular dated 16.09.2011 whereby a designated tare weight of wagons were fixed of permissible carrying capacity.
2. The petitioner in WP (C) No. 4866/2012 is an Association of persons which is registered under the provisions of Societies Registration Act, 1860. The members of the said Association carry on the business of sale and supply of coal from different loading stations situated within the jurisdiction of N.F. Railways, Maligaon to all over India.
3. The petitioners in WP (C) No. 208/2013 are individual proprietorship firms having their offices at Goalpara and engaged in the business of sale and supply of coal from different loading stations situated within the jurisdiction of N.F. Railways, Maligaon, Guwahati including Goalpara, Jogighopa, Bongaigaon etc. to all over India.
4. The petitioners in WP (C) No. 5028/2013 are a proprietorship firms who are engaged in the business of various goods like marble, marble stone, mineral, plastic goods wall putty etc. in different parts of India and for that purpose, the petitioners used the Railways for transportation.
5. Taking into account that the challenge made in the three writ petitions is in relation to the Railway Board’s Circular dated 16.09.2011 (hereinafter for the sake of convenience referred to as ‘the impugned circular’) this Court finds it relevant to take note of the contents of the said impugned circular.
6. It transpires from the perusal of the impugned circular that in terms with the Railway Board’s letters dated 29.07.2011 and 05.08.2011, permissible carrying capacity of different wagons were revised. This standardized permissible carrying capacity of the wagons were based on designated tare of the wagons and permissible axle load limit. It was therefore decided that the designated tare of the wagons should be taken as the bench mark for reckoning of overloading of any wagon. It was also mentioned that in those cases where the tare weighment of the empty wagons have been permitted the existing procedure for calculating permissible carrying capacity of the wagons would continue unchanged as issued by the Railway Board’s letters dated 17.02.2009, 05.03.2009 and 05.08.2011. To the said impugned circular, the details of the designated design tare weight of different stocks plying on the Indian Railways as supplied by the Mechanical Engineering of the Directorate of the Railway Board was enclosed. The enclosure of the said impugned circular shows that in respect to the various types of wagons, the tare weights were fixed.
7. From a perusal of the three writ petitions, it transpires that the grievances of the petitioners to the impugned circular is on the ground that the weight of the empty goods wagons (i.e. tare weight) has been specified category-wise without reckoning the actual weight of the wagons. It was the case of the petitioners that the wagons in Indian Railways go through a lot of wear and tear during its lifetime and subsequently may lose or gain weight, and as such, the actual weight of the empty wagons and the designated tare weight as fixed by the impugned circular may vary to a large extent. The further grievances of the petitioners are that if the actual tare weight is not taken into account and it is the designated tare weight which is taken then the petitioners would be subjected to overload penalty on deemed empty weight of the wagons which would be against the principles of natural justice and violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. Further to that it is also the case of the petitioners that the fixation of imaginary weight of the empty wagons is directly hit by the provisions of the Standards of Weights and
