SENTHILKUMAR R. Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) W.P.No.1084 of 2023 has been filed by 25 petitioners / cane growers in Kammapuram Firka in Cuddalore District in the nature of Certiorari seeking interference with an order dtd. 28/10/2022 in R.C.4388/Cane2/2022 passed by the 2 nd respondent / Commissioner of Sugar, Chennai. The 1st respondent is the State of Tamil Nadu represented by its Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department and the 3rd respondent is E.I.D, Parry (India) Limited, (EIDPIL) having its registered office at Chennai and the 4th respondent is the Managing Director, M.R.K. Co-operative Sugar Mills (MRK) at Sethiathope in Cuddalore District.

(2.) The writ petition came up before this Court on 12/1/2023 for the first time. It was represented by learned Senior Counsel, Mr.Vijay Narayan, that the sugarcane grown in Kammapuram Firka in Cuddalore District were originally supplied to M/s.Shree Ambika Sugars Limited, (SASL) but owing to various circumstances, the said company suffered orders of liquidation and thereafter, the 2nd respondent had passed an order on 7/6/2019 in R.C.No.261/Cane 2/2019 temporarily allotting the area to the 3rd respondent, East India Distilleries (Parry) India Limited. He also stated that EIDPIL had taken substantial steps in investing in cultivating the land and in monitoring the growth of sugarcane to ensure that the sugarcanes are ripe for harvest and for supply to EIDPIL, when, an order was passed on 1/2/2021 by the 2nd respondent, temporarily again reallocating the lands under Kammapuram Firka to the 4th respondent / MRK Co-operative Sugar Mill (MRK) at Sethiathope in Cuddalore District. It was contended that questioning that particular shift in the allotment, the petitioners and 42 other cane growers had filed W.P.No.7692 of 2022 complaining that the said order was passed violating principles of natural justice. It was further pointed out by the learned Senior Counsel that the said argument was found favour with a learned Single Judge of this Court, who, by an order dtd. 11/8/2022 quashed the said order and directed opportunity of hearing to be afforded by the 2nd respondent to the cane growers and to then pass a considered order.

(3.) It was further represented that the order now impugned came to be passed once again temporarily allotting the lands in Kammapuram Firka to MRK. Charging that MRK did not have the capacity or the facility to crush sugarcane or even to undertake transportation of sugarcane, the writ petition was moved seeking urgent orders, since if the crushing of sugarcane is delayed, it would directly result in making spare the sugarcane juice, thereby directly affecting the income of the cane growers.