Handling charges for manganese ore require prior sanction from the Central Government under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963, and changes to existing rates must be substantiated by proper governmental approval.

1. These three civil appeals on grant of special leave to appeal under Art.136 of the Constitution of India bring in challenge a common judgment and order rendered by a Division Bench of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh dismissing two writ appeals moved by the appellant The Vishakhapatnam Port Trust and its Traffic Manager, and allowing one writ petition moved by the respondent writ petitioner against the present appellants. The said common judgment and order dated 1st October, 1992 are assailed by the appellants on diverse grounds which will be highlighted in latter part of this judgment;' The main grievance of the appellants centers round the question of levying of appropriate handling charges from various shippers who seek to export manganese ore from the wharves of the appellant's Port. In order to appreciate this grievance it is necessary to note a few relevant introductory facts.

2. The respondent in these appeals were the original writ petitioners before the High Court. They are dealers in manganese ore. They export manganese ore through the Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of India. For exporting the said, ore they naturally require the services of appellant No. 1 's Port through which their manganese ore is loaded in the ships for export. The appellant Port for that purpose offers various services and facilities to such shippers. The appellant Port maintains different yards in its premises. One such yard is known as `Eastern Yard' which is divided into several plots of varying extent between 100 square meters and 600 square meters. These plots are leased out by the Port Trust authorities to different shippers. The writ petitioners are the lessees of a few plots. They are at a distance of about 200 meters to 1500 meters from the wharf. These plots are connected by broad gauge railway lines on one side and narrow gauge railway lines on the other side. The ore is transported to the plots on the broad gauge railway line and is transported to ships by narrow gauge railway line. The shippers can also transport the ore to their respective plots by road using dumpers or lorries. The handling of ore from the plots to the ships was previously undertaken by the Port authorities. The entire operation consisted of:
(a) Loading of ore into the skips by the Port labour;
(b) Transport of ore from the plots to the vessels utilising the internal narrow gauge railway system belonging to the port.
(c) Transferring the ore from the skips to the ships hold, utilising the port labour.
Under S.48, 49 and 50 of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (for short `the Act') the Board of Trustees is enabled to charge for the services rendered by the Board. In exercise of the powers conferred under S.48 and 49 of the Act, the Board periodically notifies the scales of rates and conditions and the handling charges for the manganese ore for the said operation were fixed at the rate of Rs. 35/- per thousand kilograms or one metric ton. These handling charges were inclusive of equipment hire charges. In May, 1986 the writ petitioners received a circular from the Traffic Manager of the Port stating that the then existing N. G. system would not be available and that the revised system would come into force on or around 20th May, 1986. The consequence of the abolition was that the shippers were required to employ their own dumpers and loaders to transport the ore from the dump area to the wharf and load the ore on to the ships utilising their slings. No port labour or other personnel and equipmen