NARBHERAM VISHRAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner no. 1 is a partnership-Firm and the petitioner no. 2 is one of its partners. The firm carries on mining and mineral trading business in the States of Odisha and Jharkhand having its office at Kolkata and has been supplying critical raw materials in the form of iron-ore to the steel industry.

(2.) The Indian Railways issued a Circular bearing no. 99/TC (FM)/26/1 on March 31, 2005 thereby liberalizing rules relating to Railway sidings. Pursuant to the said Policy, the petitioners submitted a proposal for availing its own private railway siding at Bolani Khadan Railway Station for loading and transportation of iron-ore. The said proposal was approved and accordingly, the petitioner no. 1 commenced construction of the siding, for which permission was also given after initially withholding the same from 2010 to 2019 on the ground of fixing market value and licence fee.

(3.) In early 2020, the petitioners had already completed construction of the siding and asked the respondents to take steps for signing of the Land Licensing Agreement and early commissioning of the railway sidings.