Tulzapurkar, J. - (1.) This appeal by certificate is directed against the judgment rendered by the Allahabad High Court on Dec. 5, 1967 in S. A. No. 1068 of 1967 and raises a short question whether the appellant is entitled to the benefit of certain concessions (deductions) in the minimum price notified by the Cane Commissioner in his order issued on June 1, 1955
(2.) The appellant (Shri Janki Sugar Mills and Company) is a partnership firm carrying on the business of manufacturing sugar. By an order passed on November 1, 1954 under S. 15 of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Cane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act 1953, the Cane Commissioner reserved certain sugarcane centres for the appellant's sugar factory. On November 12, 1954 (i.e. within 14 days of the reservation of the sugarcane centres) the respondent No. 4 (Laskar Co-operative Cane Development Union Ltd.) made an offer for the 1954-55 crushing season for the supply of 6 lac maunds of sugarcane out of a total estimated yield of 12 lac maunds of sugarcane from certain centres. This offer was accepted by the appellant-firm on November 27, 1954 (i.e. within 14 days of the receipt of the offer) and an agreement in the prescribed Form 'C' was duly executed on February 9, 1955. It contained the usual term that the appellant-firm will pay for the sugarcane supplied to it "at the minimum price notified by the Government subject to such deductions, if any, as may be notified by the Government from time to time." On March 22, 1955 the respondent No. 4 made another offer for supplying additional quantity of 2 lac maunds of sugarcane to the appellant-firm which offer was also accepted on May 4, 1955 and a composite agreement in prescribed Form 'C' was entered into on that very day for the supply of 8 lac maunds of sugarcane (inclusive of the initial 6 lac maunds). This agreement also contained the usual term with regard to the payment being made "at the minimum price subject to such deductions as may be notified by the Government from time to time." By a Press Note dated May 23, 1955 the Government of India notified its decision that certain deductions in the minimum cane price, on the basis of recovery of sugar from sugarcane, will be allowed to sugarcane factories in Uttar Pradesh on the cane supplied to them on and after May 1, 1955 but that the deductions will be allowed only on "unbonded cane" crushed by each factory and not on "bonded cane", the latter of which shall have to be purchased by each factory at the minimum cane price already fixed for the season. In exercise of the powers under S. 3 of th Essential Commodities Act, 1955, (delegated to him by the Government of India under a Notification dated April 25, 1955), the Cane Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh issued a Notification on June 1, 1955 whereunder "the producers of sugar by vacuum pan process were allowed to make deductions as specified in the Schedule thereto from the minimum price of per maund of cane fixed for the season 1954-55 in respect of the unbonded sugarcane crushed on and after May 1, 1955." The appellant-firm, taking advantage of this Notification granting concessions in the minimum price, made payments to Respondent No. 4 after making deductions in respect of the two lac maunds of sugarcane supplied to it, in respect whereof the offer had been made to it on March 22, 1955. However, on December 21, 1955 the Cane Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh issued a Recovery Certificate under Ss. 17 and 18 of Uttar Pradesh Sugar Cane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 against the appellant-firm for a sum of Rupees 53,878/10/- being the amounts deducted by the appellant-firm while making payments to Respondent No. 4. The appellant-firm disputed the legality of the Recovery Certificate on the ground that it had the right to make the deductions in view of the Cane Commissioner's Notification dated June 1, 1955. The said dispute was referred by the Cane Commissioner to the District Cane Officer, Bulandshahr as the sole arbitrator under Rule 108 of the U. P. Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Rules, 1954. By this award dated May 30, 1962 the District Cane Officer held that the appellant-firm had wrongly made the deductions in respect of the supply of two lac maunds of sugarcane which was "bonded cane" and that the appellant-firm was liable to pay the minimum price therefor.
(3.) Aggrieved by the award the appellant-firm preferred an appeal to the Divisional Commissioner, Meerut, under Rule 118 of the said Rules, but the appeal was dismissed on March 30, 1963. The appellant-firm challenged the legality of the award of the District Cane Officer as also the appellate order of the Divisional Commissioner by means of a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court being Civil Miscellaneous Writ No. 2003 of 1963. The learned single Judge who heard the writ petition dismissed the same by his judgment and order dated October 24, 1967. A further Special Appeal No. 1068 of 1967 carried by the appellant-firm to the Division Bench of that Court also proved unsuccessful on December 5, 1967. The appellant-firm has come up in appeal to this Court.;