- (1.) The U.P. State Sugar Corporation Ltd. is a Government company with its shares held by the State Government. By virtue of Section 3 of the U.P. Sugar Undertaking (Acquisition) Act, 1971, five sugar mills were taken over by the State Government and vested in the Corporation. Between 1974 to 1989 twenty four more sugar mills in the State were also taken over by the State Government and vested in the Corporation. The Corporation on its own established four sugar mills at Chhata Distt. Mathura in 1973; Nandganj, Distt. Ghazipur in 1978; Dariyapur in Distt. Rai Bareilly in 1979 and Ghatampur in Distt. Kanpur Dehat in 1988. Most of the sugar mills taken over by the Corporation are still running with old machinery and have not been modernised. In the year 2006-07 the Corporation was running in losses of 67.01 crores with a total income of Rs. 461.36 crores. In the year 2007-08 the losses increased to Rs. 195.34 crores. In the year 2008-09 on account of grants given by the State Government for payment to the cane growers, the Corporation projected profits in the profit and loss account of Rs. 233.84 crores against income of Rs. 487.23 crores. If the grants were excluded, the corporation was in loss of Rs. 13.55 crores.
(2.) The State Government decided to close 19 sugar mills of the Corporation between 1998-99 to 2007-08, and was operating only 11 mills in the year 2009-10.
(3.) The Petitioner No. 1 is an association of the staff appointed/posted at the headquarters of the company at Lucknow including the administrative staff. The association is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 with Registration No. 236/81/82 dated 8.4.1981, and with its last renewal for five years w.e.f. 8.4.2005. It is stated in paras 13 and 14 that association has 437 members out of which 180 are posted at the head office and remaining members are posted at several manufacturing units. In the year 2008, when the writ petition was filed, 14 manufacturing units were functional and 19 had been closed down due to recurring losses. By this writ petition the Petitioners have prayed for following reliefs: 1. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the government order dated 22.7.2008 (Annexure No. 20 to the writ petition) as also the office order dated 25.7.2008 issued by Managing Director, U.P. State Sugar Corporation Ltd., Lucknow (Annexure No. 21 to the writ petition). 2. Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing the office order dated 26.6.2008 issued by the State Government (Annexure No. 9 to the writ petition). 3. Issue a writ, order or direction of suitable nature commanding the Respondents to disburse to the members of the Petitioner No. 1 association including Petitioner Nos. 2, 3 and 4 all arrears of salary arising from 1.1.1996 on the basis of pay scales as recommended by 5th Pay Commission along with the arrears arisen on account of increased Dearness Allowance from 1.7.2006 till date within a period to be specified by this Hon'ble Court.;