Abdul Jalil vs State Of U P And 3 Others
2021 Latest Caselaw 1809 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
 
 

AFR
 
Court No. - 48
 

 
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 23288 of 2020
 

 
Petitioner :- Abdul Jalil
 
Respondent :- State of U.P. and 3 others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Chetan Chatterjee
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C., Ravindra Singh
 

 
Hon'ble Surya Prakash Kesarwani,J.

Hon'ble Dr. Yogendra Kumar Srivastava,J.

(Per : Dr. Yogendra Kumar Srivastava,J.)

1. Present writ petition has been filed praying for the following reliefs:-

"a. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the order dated 12.04.2019 passed by the respondent no.3 (Annexure No. 8 to this writ petition).

b. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent no.2 to decide the representation dated 05.11.2019 submitted by the petitioner as per Rule 5(5) of U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order, 1954 (Annexure No.9 to this writ petition) in accordance with law.

c. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent no.2 to assign the collection center of sugarcane of the petitioner as it was prior to year 2018-19 to 4/Islam Nagar III instead of 3/Chaparchidi, Saharanpur Cane Circle, District Saharanpur.

d. Issue any other writ, order direction as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit to issue considering the facts and circumstances of the case."

2. The petitioner claiming himself to be a resident of Village Ambehata Peer, District Saharanpur and a sugarcane farmer having his agricultural land in Village Manakpur, has filed the present writ petition, principally seeking to raise a grievance with regard to the attachment of his cane area to Cane Purchase Centre at Chaparchidi. In this regard the petitioner claims to have submitted a representation dated 05.11.2019 before the District Sugarcane Officer, Saharanpur. He also seeks to challenge the order dated 12.04.2019 passed by the Deputy Cane Commissioner, Saharanpur whereunder an earlier representation filed by the petitioner and certain other cane growers of the area with regard to the same grievance has been decided.

3. Contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that the cane growers of Village Manakpur have been supplying their sugarcane in previous years at the Cane Purchase Centre Islam Nagar bearing Center Code No.4/Islam Nagar-III and only during the crushing season 2018-19 they have been shifted to the Cane Purchase Centre No.3/Chaparchidi, District Saharanpur. It is submitted that the Cane Purchase Centre at Chaparchidi is at a much greater distance than the Cane Purchase Centre, Islam Nagar causing inconvenience to the cane growers of Village Manakpur. Placing reliance on Clause 5(5) of the U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order, 19541, it is sought to be contended that the dispute as to whether a particular system adopted for the purchase of cane is equitable or not is to be referred to the Cane Commissioner and accordingly the representation dated 05.11.2019 submitted by the petitioner may be decided in terms thereof.

4. Sri Manoj Kumar Kushwaha, learned counsel for the State-respondents and Sri Ravindra Singh, learned counsel appearing for respondent no.4 have raised an objection to the maintainability of the writ petition at the behest of an individual cane grower and they submit that any grievance in this regard can be raised through the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area in question. They submit that the writ petition filed by the petitioner claiming himself to be a sugarcane grower of the area is misconceived and is liable to be dismissed.

5. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

6. The regulation of supply and purchase of sugarcane in the State of Uttar Pradesh is governed in terms of the provisions contained under the Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 19532 and the rules made thereunder namely the Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Rules, 19543.

7. The aforementioned Act, 1953 and the Rules, 1954 contain detailed and elaborate provisions regarding supply of the sugarcane by the cane growers, its purchase by the sugar factories and payment of price thereof. In terms of the scheme of the Act, 1953, a mechanism is provided for ensuring the required continuous supply of sugarcane to the sugar factories during the crushing season. Keeping in mind the interest of the sugarcane growers, Cane-growers' Co-operative Societies, sugar factories and also the inter se interest of the sugar factories in the area, the supply of sugarcane to the sugar factories in the quantity which may reasonably be required by them for production in a particular crushing season is regulated by the provisions of the Act, 1953.

8. A duty has been cast upon the Cane Commissioner, under Section 12 of the Act, 1953 to require the occupier of each factory to furnish in the manner and by the date specified in an order to be issued by him an estimate of the quantity of the sugarcane which would be required by a factory during such crushing season or seasons as may be specified in the order. The Cane Commissioner is obliged to examine every such estimate and is enjoined to publish the same with such modifications, if any, as he may make.

9. The publication of the estimate is made for the purpose of making it known to all sugar factories that the estimates prepared by them of the requisite quantity of sugarcane for a particular crushing season or seasons has been accepted by the Cane Commissioner with or without modification. Section 13 of the Act, 1953 enjoins upon the occupier of the factory to maintain a register of all cane growers and Cane-growers' Co-operative Society or societies that sell sugarcane to the factory. In terms of Section 14 the State Government may provide for survey of the area which is proposed to be reserved or assigned for supply of sugarcane to a factory, and in terms of Section 15 the Cane Commissioner is empowered to issue an order declaring the reserved and the assigned area for the purposes of supply of sugarcane to a factory.

10. The declaration of the reserved area and assigned area under Section 15 is to be made by the Cane Commissioner after consulting the sugar factory and the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society in the manner so prescribed.

11. The object of the declaration of the reserved area and assigned area is to minimize the conflict in claims of the sugar factories seeking supply of sugarcane which may otherwise have an adverse effect on the sugar factories as well as the cane growers of the area.

12. The guidelines which are required to be followed in reserving or assigning an area to a factory and determining the quantity of sugarcane to be purchased from the area by a factory are provided for under Rule 22 of the Rules, 1954.

13. The provision with regard to declaration of reserved and assigned areas as contained under Section 15 of the Act, 1953 is reproduced below:-

"15. Declaration of reserved area and assigned area.--(1) Without prejudice to any order made under Clause (d) of sub-section (2) of Section 16 of the Cane Commissioner may, after consulting the Factory and Cane-growers' Co-operative Society in the manner to be prescribed:

(a) reserve any area (hereinafter called the reserved area); and

(b) assign any area (hereinafter called an assigned area),

for the purpose of the supply of cane to a factory in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 during one or more crushing seasons as may be specified and may likewise at any time cancel such order or alter the boundaries of an area so reserved or assigned.

(2) Where an area has been declared as reserved area for a factory, the occupier of such factory shall, if so directed by the Cane Commissioner, purchase all the cane grown in that area, which is offered for sale to the factory.

(3) Where any area has been declared as assigned area for a factory, the occupier of such factory shall purchase such quantity of cane grown in that area and offered for sale to the factory as may be determined by the Cane Commissioner.

(4) An appeal shall lie to the State Government against the order of the Cane Commissioner passed under sub-section (1)."

14. The guidelines for the aforesaid purpose for reserving an area or assigning an area as provided under Rule 22 of the Rules, 1954, are being extracted below:-

"22. In reserving an area for or assigning an area to a factory or determining the quantity of cane to be purchased from an area by a factory, under Section 15, the Cane Commissioner may take into consideration--

(a) the distance of the area from the factory,

(b) facilities for transport of cane from the area,

(c) the quantity of cane supplied from the area to the factory in previous year,

(d) previous reservation and assignment orders,

(e) the quantity of cane to be crushed in factory,

(f) the arrangements made by the factory in previous years for payment of cess, cane price and commission,

(g) the views of the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area,

(h) efforts made by the factory in developing the reserved or assigned area,

(i) efforts made by the factory to provide information to the farmers pertaining to survey, supply tickets, weighment, payment etc. through the use of website, Short Messaging Service (SMS), Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), Hand Held Computer (HHC), Global Positioning System (GPS), electronic weigh-bridge etc."

15. The order passed under Section 15 containing declaration of reserved area and assigned area in respect of a sugar factory is appealable before the State Government in terms of sub-section (4) of Section 15 of the Act, 1953.

16. In the aforesaid manner it is seen that as per the terms of the scheme provided for under the Act, 1953 and the Rules, 1954 an elaborate mechanism has been provided to regulate the supply and purchase of sugarcane to sugar factories so as to secure the interest of the sugar factories, the sugarcane growers and also the cane co-operative societies of area. The provision for declaration of reserved area and assigned area by the Cane Commissioner after consulting the sugar factories, has also been made for the aforesaid purpose of regulating the supply and purchase of sugarcane, minimizing the conflict in claims of the sugar factories in the area and also for securing the interests of the cane growers and the Cane-growers' Co-operative Societies.

17. The guidelines provided under the Rule 22 of the Rules, 1954 provide for consideration of all the relevant factors before making a declaration of the reserved area and assigned area of a particular sugar factory. The factors which are required to be considered also include ascertaining the views of Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area which in turn represents the cane growers of the area.

18. As regards the contention raised by the learned counsel for the petitioner based on Clause 5(5) of U.P. Sugarcane Supply and Purchase Order, 1954, it may be noticed that the aforementioned Order, 1954 has been notified by the State Government in exercise of power conferred by Section 16 of the Act, 1953. The relevant provisions with regard to purchase of cane in reserved and assigned areas as contained under Clauses 3, 4 and 5 of the Order, 1954 are being extracted below:-

"3. Purchase of cane in reserved area.--(1) The occupier of a factory shall estimate or cause to be estimated by the 31st day of the October or such later date in a crushing season as, on an application being made to the Cane Commissioner by the occupier of a factory, may be fixed by the Cane Commissioner, the quantity of cane with each grower enrolled in the Growers' Register and shall on demand submit the estimate to the Cane Commissioner and the Collector.

(2) A Cane-grower or a Cane-Grower's Co-operative Society may within 14 days of the issue of an order reserving an area for a factory, offer in Form A of the Appendix, to supply cane grown in the reserved area, to the occupier of the factory.

(3) The occupier of the factory for which an area has been reserved, shall, within fourteen days of the receipt of the offer enter into an agreement in Form B or Form C of the Appendix, with the Cane-grower or the Cane-grower's Co-operative Society, as the case may be. in respect of the cane offered:

Provided that any purchase of cane made before the execution of the prescribed agreement shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with such agreement.

(4) The Cane Commissioner may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the date for making offers in respect of any reserved area.

4. Purchase of cane in assigned area.--(1) The occupier of a factory for which an area has been assigned, shall within fourteen days of the order of assignment of the area, enter into an agreement in Form B or C of the Appendix, as the case may be, with the Cane-grower or Cane-Grower's Co-operative Society for the purchase from the assigned area of such quantity of cane as may be fixed by Cane Commissioner:

Provided that any purchase of cane made before the execution of the prescribed agreement shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with such agreement.

5. General provisions regarding purchase of cane.--(1) Cane grown in the reserved or assigned area of a factory shall not except with the permission of the Cane Commissioner, be purchased by any person without the previous issue, at convenient centers in the said area of requisition slips and identification cards to the growers by the occupier of the factory.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (1) requisition slips and identification cards to members of a Cane-grower's Co-operative Society shall not be issued except by such Society.

(3) An occupier of a factory or Cane-grower's Co-operative Society shall maintain a record of the identification cards issued and a daily account of the requisition slips issued to the growers and returned by them.

(4) Purchase of cane shall be spread over the entire crushing season in an equitable manner and due consideration shall be given to variety and maturity of sugarcane:

Provided that this restriction shall not apply where the quantity of cane purchased does not exceed one cart load from a cane grower in a crushing season.

(5) A dispute whether a particular system adopted for the purchase of cane is equitable or not, may be referred to the Cane Commissioner whose decision shall be final.

(6) No person other than a cane-grower or a Cane-grower's Co-operative Society shall sell cane to the occupier of factory.

(7) No person shall transfer or abet the transfer of a requisition slip for the cane of a grower to another person, with the object of enabling cane other than that belonging to the grower for whom the requisition slip has been issued, to be sold to a factory.

............"

19. Clause 3 of the Order, 1954 provides for purchase of cane in reserved area and Clause 4 provides for purchase of cane in assigned area. Clause 5 contains the general provisions regarding purchase of cane. In terms of Clause 5(1) it is provided that cane grown in the reserved or assigned area shall not except with the permission of the Cane Commissioner, be purchased by any person without the previous issue of requisition slips and identification cards to the growers by the occupier of the factory. Sub-clauses (2) and (3) of Clause 5 lay down that requisition slips and identification cards to members of a Cane-growers' Co-operative Society shall not be issued except by such society and the records of the same have to be maintained by the occupier of the factory and also by the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society. Clause 5(4) mandates that purchase of cane shall be spread over the entire crushing season in an equitable manner and Clause 5(7) lays down that no person shall transfer or abet the transfer of a requisition slip for the cane of a grower to another person. Any dispute as to whether a particular system adopted for the purchase of cane is equitable or not, is to be referred to the Cane Commissioner under Clause 5(5).

20. The order dated 12.04.2019 passed by the Deputy Cane Commissioner on a representation submitted by the petitioner and certain other cane growers of the area by referring to Clause 5(5) of the Order, 1954 has taken note of the factual position that the cane growers in question were residents of Village Ambehata Peer but as their cane growing areas were in Village Manakpur the sugarcane produced by them in Village Manakpur was directed to be supplied at the Islam Nagar Centre whereas the sugarcane produced in Village Ambehata Peer was directed to be supplied at the Cane Purchase Centre, Chaparchidi.

21. The Deputy Cane Commissioner, placing reliance on Section 81 of the U.P. Co-operative Societies Act, 1965, has stated in his order that the cane growers being the residents of Village Ambehata Peer would be entitled for being members of the Co-operative Society of the said village and in terms of para 5(v) of the Sugarcane Bonding and Supply Policy notified by the Cane Commissioner for the crushing season 2018-19, their agreements would be continued from the village where they were members of the co-operative society. However, considering their difficulties, it was considered equitable to permit them to supply the sugarcane produced in Village Manakpur to the Cane Purchase Centre at Islam Nagar and the sugarcane produced in Village Ambehata Peer be supplied to the Sugarcane Purchase Centre at Chaparchidi.

22. The Order, 1954 which has been made by the State Government in exercise of power under Section 16 of the Act, 1953 provides the procedure under which the purchase of sugarcane in the reserved areas and in the assigned areas are regulated. It also lays down the general provisions regarding purchase of cane in the reserved or assigned areas.

23. In view of Clause 5 of the Order, 1954 the cane grown in the reserved or assigned area cannot be purchased by any person without the previous issue of requisition slips and identification cards to the growers by the occupier of the factory and in case of members of a Cane-growers' Co-operative Society by such society. Since the requisition slips are non-transferable and issued by the co-operative society according to the requirement of sugarcane the purchase of sugarcane from a reserved or assigned area is controlled in terms thereof.

24. The petitioner herein claiming himself to be a cane grower of the area is seeking a direction for the attachment of his village to the Cane Purchase Centre Islam Nagar in place of the Cane Purchase Centre Chaparchidi. In effect the petitioner has sought to raise a grievance against the orders whereunder the cane area, which includes the Village Manakpur, has been declared to be a reserved or assigned area in terms of the statutory provisions under the Act, 1953 and the Rules made thereunder.

25. In view of the foregoing discussion and taking into consideration the scheme for regulating the supply and purchase of sugarcane as per the provisions contained under the Act, 1953 and the Rules, 1954, it follows that an individual cane grower would not have the right to raise a challenge to the reservation or assignment of areas to sugar factories and the grievance, if any, in this regard would have to be espoused through the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area in question.

26. In this regard we may refer to a judgment of this Court in Satnam Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.4 wherein a similar challenge sought to be raised by an individual cane grower in respect of reservation of cane areas was repelled and it was held as follows:-

"We are of the view that the petitioner even if he is representing some more farmers at village Undra does not have a right to maintain the writ petition as the Cane Commissioner or the State Government is not obliged to issue notice to all the farmers to ascertain their views. In order to pass orders for establishing Cane Centres, the Cane Commissioner is to consider the interest of majority of cane growers of the concerned Cane Cooperative Societies, and it is the Cane Cooperative Society, which may be treated to be aggrieved as it is representing all the sugarcane growers attached to the purchase centers set up by such society, to espouse the cause of its member cane growers before the Cane Commissioner, State Government or in the High Court."

27. Taking a similar view this Court in its judgment passed in the case in Dharam Veer Singh & Ors. Vs. State of U.P. & Ors.5 held that under Rule 22 of the Rules, 1954, the Cane Commissioner while passing an order of reservation of cane area is required to ascertain the view of the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area and there is no requirement to issue notice to individual farmers or to ascertain their views. The observations made in the judgment are as follows:-

"We find no merit in this claim because under the relevant Rule-22 of the U.P. Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Rules, 1954, the Cane Commissioner while passing the initial order for reservation of cane area is required to ascertain the views of the Cane Growers Cooperative Society of the area. There is no requirement even at that stage to issue notice to individual farmers or ascertain their views. Hence there can be no such responsibility or liability upon the State Government while hearing the appeal under Section 15(4) of the Act to issue notice to individual farmers like the petitioners."

28. The aforementioned legal position has been reiterated in a recent judgment of this Court in Akram Khan and another v State of U.P. and 3 others6 and it has been held that writ petition at the behest of an individual cane growers seeking to raise grievances with regard to reservation or assignment of cane areas is not maintainable and that their cause can be espoused only by the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society.

29. Having regard to the aforementioned facts and circumstances the position which emerges is that in terms of the provisions for under the Act, 1953 and the Rules, 1954 an elaborate mechanism is provided for reservation and assignment of cane areas to sugar factories in order to regulate the supply and purchase of sugarcane in their area. The factors which are taken into consideration include ascertaining the views of the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society of the area. The individual cane growers have therefore no right or locus standi to raise any challenge to reservation or assignment of cane areas in favour of a particular sugar factory and any grievance in this regard is to be espoused only through the Cane-growers' Co-operative Society which represents the cane growers of the area.

30. As regards the claim of the petitioner that his representation dated 05.11.2019 with regard to his grievance filed before the District Sugarcane Office, Saharanpur be decided it would be relevant to take notice of the fact that earlier representation raising the same grievance has been considered and decided by a detailed order dated 12.04.2019 passed by the Deputy Cane Commissioner, Saharanpur which is based on consideration of the factual position and also taking into account the scheme provided for under the relevant statutory provisions with regard to supply of sugarcane at the various cane centres.

31. No material error or illegality has been pointed out by the counsel for the petitioner in the aforesaid order, which may warrant interference.

32. For all the aforestated reasons, we are not inclined to entertain the present writ petition and the same is accordingly dismissed.

Order Date :- 1.2.2021

Shahroz

(Dr. Y.K. Srivastava,J.) (S.P. Kesarwani,J.)