In Brief
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited challenged the rejection of its claim for excess railway freight charges paid to the Railways between 2008 and 2010. The appellant had paid freight based on a notified distance of 125 km which was later corrected to 100 km following introduction of a computerized system. The High Court upheld the Railway Claims Tribunal's dismissal citing the six-month notice requirement under Section 106(3) of the Railways Act, 1989. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the statutory notice requirement applies only to overcharge cases, not illegal realization. Since freight was paid according to an officially notified distance later corrected by official notification, this constituted illegal realization rather than overcharge, and the six-month limitation did not apply.
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