RIPLEY & CO. STEVEDORING & HOLDING PVT. LTD. AND ORS. Vs. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR THE PORT OF KOLKATA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These four writ petitions have been taken up for hearing and disposal together as they involve common questions of fact and law.

(2.) The Kolkata Port Trust (in short 'KPT') issued a Notice Inviting Tender (in short 'NIT') dated 21st July, 2014 seeking to impose a condition for payment of royalty on the volume cargo handling of the Shore Handling Agents at the Haldia Dock Complex and also seeking to fix a ceiling limit on the charges which the operators can charge for their services rendered to private customers. These two clauses of the NIT are under challenge in the four writ petitions. Clauses 4.3, 7.12 and 14 of the NIT which are under challenge are set out hereunder: - -

(3.) Imposition of the aforementioned terms is beyond the jurisdiction and authority of KPT, which is a statutory body whose power is circumscribed by the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 (in short 'MPT Act'). KPT is not authorized by the MPT Act to prescribe the rights at which shore handling agents can charge exporters/importers who are serviced directly by the petitioners. Only the Tariff Authority for Major Ports (in short TAMP) can do so under Sec. 48 of the MPT Act as amended in 1997.