VIKLAD COAL MERCHANT PATIALA DHARAM SINGH YADAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) When the hearing in this group of petitions concluded, we pronounced the following order:

(2.) The petitioners, in this group of petitions, under Art. 32 of the Constitution are coal-merchants, who, according to them, have been denied the use of the railways for transport of coal from various coalfields and way-side stations to their destinations by the illegal and unconstitutional action of the railway administration. Constitutional conundrum invoked by them is the alleged violation of Art. 14 in that while certain transporters of coal have been accorded priority in the matter of transport of coal such as the Central and the State Governments and the sponsored and recommended transporters, the petitioners who are coal merchants were denied equality of opportunity in the matter of, transport of coal by railway. Their further grievance is that total prohibition of booking and transport of coal as requested by petitioners, by the railway administration, an instrumentality of the State envisaged by Art. 12 imposes an unreasonable restriction on their fundamental freedom to carry an trade guaranteed by Art. 19(l)(g) of the Constitution and hence impugned orders are invalid.

(3.) There are different petitioners from different areas voicing their grievance against action of different zonal railway administrations but the running thread in the catalogue of grievances is the same and therefore a few representative facts to appreciate the contention as set out in Civil Writ Petition No. 8003-04 by M/s. Raniganj Coal Corporation and Ors., may be briefly enumerated. This petition is adopted as representative for the additional reason that a very comprehensive counter affidavit has been filed in it on behalf of the respondents.