Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered Cane Commissioner to determine the sucrose recovery rate for the respective crushing seasons from 1998-99 till 2018-19 in accordance with the laws in twenty days.
Cane Commissioner shall examine each notification separately and determine the sucrose recovery rate according to each notification, a division bench of the SHC comprised of Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Agha Faisal issued these orders in two identical petitions.
In a written order, the court observed that the controversy before the court was non-payment of quality premium by sugar mills to growers, payable at the end of each crushing season, as the same has not been paid since 1998.
The bench maintained that several sugar mills had challenged the vires of provisions contained in Section 16 of the Sugar Factories Control Act 1950 ("Act"), in this court through C P No D-1364 to 1369 of 1998 and some other petitions.
The petitions were dismissed by this Court vide judgment dated 22.03.2003, which was challenged by the sugar mills in the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos.334 to 344 of 2004 and vide judgment dated 05-03-2018, these appeals were dismissed by the apex court.
Rafiq Ahmed Kalwar Advocate and Syed Mur Shah Advocate have jointly argued that under Section 16(3) of act all sugar mills are required to pay quality premium, which has not been paid and after dismissing of the appeals by Supreme Court, there is no justification to withhold this amount any further, as earlier vires were challenged with regard to Section 16 of the Act but they could not succeed.
It was further argued that the Cane Commissioner Sindh has already issued notices to the sugar mills which shows reference of the judgment passed by the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal Nos.334 to 344 of 2004, for payment of quality premium and contended that despite this judgment, no compliance was made by any of the sugar mills for payment of quality premium.
Abdul Sattar Pirzada Advocate, counsel for the sugar mills association argued that these "petitions are not maintainable, as the petitioners are associations and they could not invoke the jurisdiction of this court under Article 199 of the Constitution to espouse the cause of their members.
However, in C P No D-3456 of 2019 the petitioner No 2 is Syed Mureed Ali Shah, who himself claims to be a grower of the sugarcane but he has not given any previous claim as to what he supplied and what amount is due from which sugar mill.
He further argued that it is the responsibility of the Cane Commissioner Sindh under the law to deal with this situation and the said forum is an adequate remedy, which the petitioners have not availed and have directly approached this court instead.
According to Abdul Sattar Pirzada Advocate, no individual grower has approached the Cane Commissioner Sindh with his claim in such regard. Jawad Dero, Additional Advocate General submitted that all the notifications requiring payment of quality premium, with effect from 1998 till conclusion of the last crushing season, remain in the field.
The Cane Commissioner Sindh submitted that his office is taking serious efforts in view of the judgment of Supreme Court for recovery of quality premium but the sugar mills management failed to comply the order.
The court in its order ordered Cane Commissioner to determine the sucrose recovery rate for the respective crushing seasons 1998-99 till 2018-19 in accordance with law, within 20 days from the date hereof and shall examine each notification separately and determine the sucrose recovery rate according to each notification.
The court ordered that each grower shall apply to the respective sugar mill with their claim for the payment of quality premium and also submit the copy of application to the Cane Commissioner Sindh and after verification of the claim of such growers, the sugar mills shall make the payment to them. The documents shall be verified within two months, thereafter, the payment will be made to the growers.
In case, despite verification of the claim, the amount is not paid, the growers may approach to the Cane Commissioner Sindh and the Cane Commissioner Sindh shall take action in accordance with law against the sugar mills for non-payment of quality premium to the growers, the court ordered.
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