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23.12.2025

Item No. 13

Crt.No.10

b.r. WPA 25743 of 2025

Akbar Ali

-vs-

Union of India & Ors.

Mr. Saptarshi Roy

Ms. Kakali Das Chakraborty

…. For the petitioner.

Mr. Biplab Guha

Ms. Debarati Sen (Bose)

…. For the State.

Mr. Chirantan Dawn

Mr. Rajesh Kumar Shah

… for the Resp. nos. 1 to 4.

Mr. Swapan Kr. Pal

… for the Resp. no.5.

1. Parties are represented through their respective

learned counsels.

2. The petitioner in the instant writ petition is a

registered lease-holder of the Eastern Railway

alleging, inter alia, the illegal imposition of a

punitive over loading charge of Rs. 61,517/- at

Howrah Division Eastern Railway arising out of an

unilateral re-weighment of tare (empty) Leased

Parcel Van (LVPH) attached to Train no. 12302

(New Delhi Howrah Rajdhani Express) under

Contract No. PCL-12301-02-12305-06-VP1 dated

04.07.2025.

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3. The petitioner submits that the re-weighment was

conducted from Howrah Station on 30.10.2025 by

levelling an allegation based on reading from a

defective weighbridge against the petitioner for

overloading of 2.61 tonnes by applying the

outdated tare weight 37.8 tonnes instead of revised

39.5 tonnes as notified by the Railway Board which

runs contrary to the clause 3.2 of the Freight

Marketing Circular no. 07 of 2021. Based on

readings from a defective, uncelebrated

weighbridge.

4. The petitioner has already suffered a punitive

demand notice of Rs. 61,517/- on 31st October

2025 but the same has been paid under protest to

secure the release of the consignment.

5. Learned counsel for the Union of India submits

that though the issue involved herein pertains to

re-weighment but such re-weighment was never

done by the authority concerned and as such no

illegality has been committed by the concerned

authority.

6. It is also further submitted with regard to the point

of maintainability that the case shall be referred to

the Railway Claims Tribunal for proper

adjudication of the disputed question of facts

involved herein.

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7. The respondent no.5 also adopts the submissions

advanced by the Union of India with regard to the

point of maintainability.

8. Learned counsel for the Railway authorities

strenuously argues on the point of maintainability

since there is an alternative forum available to

agitate the grievance for redresal.

9. Let the maintainability point be kept open and be

decided at the time of hearing.

10. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

it has also been held by a Co-ordinate Bench of

this Court in WP 21636(W) of 2019 ( National

Carrying Corporation & Anr. –vs- The Union of

India & Ors.) in 15, which is reproduced below:-

“ Last but not the lease, the challenge to

the maintainability of the writ petition

made by the respondents in required to be

dealt with. Learned counsel for the

respondents has placed reliance on a

judgement of a coordinate Bench of this

Court dated 6th December, 2019 in W.P.

no. 6127(W) of 2012 wherein the learned

Court has held that the writ Court is not

the appropriate forum to adjudicate

disputed questions of fact with regard to

determination of rate of freight on a

consignment and truth of a declaration

made by the parties about the

consignment in question.”

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11. It was held by another Division Bench of the

Hon’ble Supreme Court judgement, rendered in

2021 SCC Online SC 99 ( Unitech Limited and Ors.

–vs- Telengana State Industrial Infrastructure

Corporation (TSIIC) & Ors.), in which paragraph 39

is reproduced below:-

“39. A two judge Bench of this Court in

ABL International Ltd. V. Export Credit

Guarantee Corporation of India analyzed

a long line of precedent of this Court to

conclude that writs under Article 226 are

maintainable for asserting contractual

rights against the state, or its

instrumentalities, as defined under Article

12 of the Indian Constitution. Speaking

through Justice N. Santosh Hedge, the

Court held:

N”27……… the following legal

principles emerge as to the

maintainability of a writ petition:

(a) In an appropriate case, a writ petition

as against a State or an

instrumentality of a State arising out of

(a) con