Extinguishment of statutory refund rights bars writ enforcement where no written claim is made within the prescribed period.

Section 55 of the Major Port Trusts Act was construed as extinguishing the substantive right to claim refund of overcharges if no written claim is made within six months, not merely limiting the remedy. Once that period expires without a claim, no enforceable right survives for judicial enforcement, and Article 226 cannot be used to revive an extinguished statutory claim. The Court also noted that a timely claim that is rejected may still permit other remedies, and it recognised the Board's separate discretion under the proviso to remit overcharges on its own motion.

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Issues: Whether the six-month period in Section 55 of the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 extinguishes the right to claim refund of overcharges if no written claim is made within that period, and whether a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India can be maintained to recover such refund after the right has extinguished.

Analysis: Section 55 was construed as dealing with the existence and duration of the substantive right to claim refund, not merely the forum or remedy. The Court held that once the statutory period expires without a claim being preferred in writing, the right to claim refund itself stands extinguished. The availability of a remedy arises only where a subsisting enforceable right exists, and Article 226 cannot be invoked to enforce a right that has already been extinguished by statute. At the same time, the Court noted that if a claim is made within time and is rejected, other remedies may remain available, and the Board's power under the proviso to remit overcharges on its own motion was also recognised.

Conclusion: The six-month requirement under Section 55 extinguishes the refund right if not complied with, and Article 226 cannot be used to revive such an extinguished right.

Final Conclusion: The Court clarified the scope of Section 55 and the limits of writ jurisdiction over extinguished statutory claims, while leaving the relief granted by the High Court undisturbed in view of the Board's statutory discretion.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory provision that extinguishes the substantive right to claim refund after a prescribed period also bars judicial enforcement of that claim once the period expires; constitutional writ jurisdiction cannot be used to enforce an extinguished right.

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