SWAMI SAMARTH SUGARS AND AGRO INDUSTRIES LTD Vs. LOKNETE MARUTRAO GHULE PATIL DNYANESHWAR SAHAKARI SAKHAR KARKHANA LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeals arise out of the three writ petitions which were decided by a common order dtd. 23/7/2021. Two of the writ petitions were filed by the respondent herein - Loknete Marutrao Ghule Patil Dnyaneshwar Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. (Existing Sugar Factory), whereas the third one was filed by the members of the existing sugar factory. Since the issue raised in all the three writ petitions was common, therefore, the same was decided by the High Court by a common order.

(2.) In the writ petitions, direction was sought that the Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (For short, 'IEM') dtd. 8/9/2010 be de- recognised/cancelled in view of the provisions of Clause 6C of the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 (For short, 'Control Order'). The challenge was inter alia on the ground that the time limit for a new factory to be set up was 2 years and to commence production was within 4 years (2+4), but the appellant failed to take any effective steps to set up and commence production within such time frame contemplated by the Control Order. Another ground was that the State of Maharashtra had issued a circular on 3/12/2011 under Clause 6A of the Control Order that no sugar factory shall be set up within the radius of 25 kms of any existing sugar factory or any other new factory substituting the provisions that the minimum distance was for 15 kms existing on the date of grant of IEM, therefore, the proposed sugar factory does not meet the norm of 25 kilometers. Finally, it was contended that in the absence of steps for setting up of a sugar factory and commencement of the commercial production, the IEM stands de-recognised by operation of the provision of the Control Order. Therefore, the grant of extensions to set up the sugar factory issued on 14/11/2018 followed by another extension of time and to change the location on 17/10/2019 by the Central Government was contrary to the Control Order.

(3.) The brief facts leading to the present appeals are that the existing sugar factory was set up in the year 1974, claiming to have more than 15000 members with crushing capacity as 1250 M.T. in the year 1974- 75 which was increased to 7000 M.T. per day in the year 2014-15. The said sugar factory had also set up a Distillery Plant, Co-generation Plant, Ethanol Plant and enhanced its crushing capacity of 6000 M.T. per day after a fresh IEM was issued on 1/5/2012.