In Brief
Maheshwary Handling Agency, a stevedoring company, challenged a circular issued by the Kandla Port Trust restricting cargo storage to 60 days and treating longer storage as unauthorised occupation subject to penalty rent. The Supreme Court upheld the circular as valid. It held that the Traffic Manager had authority under the 1993 tariff notification to determine conditions of authorised occupation, and that fixing a 60-day storage limit was a reasonable regulatory measure, not an amendment to the tariff schedule. The court dismissed the appellant's Article 14 challenge, finding the uniform 60-day limit was reasonable and applied without discrimination. The appeal was dismissed with no order as to costs."
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