- (1.) Petitioners are the owners of sugar factories. They have their own distilleries set up as an adjunct to their respective factories which they claim, have the capacity to consume the entire stock of molasses produced in their respective sugar factories. The gravamen of the petitioners weaves round certain directions issued by the Controller of Molasses that the petitioners have called out for challenge in the instant petitions instituted under Article 226 of the Constitution. The reliefs except the reliefs that were sorted out as not pressed, are excerpted below :(a) Pass on order along the lines of similar orders dated 8-12-1998 passed by this Hon'ble Court in the cases of Kesar Enterprises Ltd. v. State of U. P. and Ors. Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 41665 of 1998 and Sir Shadi Lal Enterprises and others v. State of U. P. and another Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 33748 of 1998 and to permit the petitioners to sell or captively consume the said molasses without further reference to the Controller of Molasses.(b) Pass an order directing respondent No. 2 to permit the petitioner to utilise the molasses manufactured by them for the purpose of distilleries of the petitioners and in the alternative as fee sale molasses.(e) Issue a writ and/or order in the nature of certiorari calling for the records of the case and(ii) Quash the provisions of para 3 of the order dated 7-4-1998 issued by the Controller of Molasses to the effect that in the event that the price at which molasses is offered by sugar factories to the Chemical Industries is higher than the market price, it would be deemed that the sugar factories are not willing to supply molasses to the chemical industries.(f) Pass any such other or further order as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the present case.
(2.) Paragraph 3 of the Order dated 7-4-1998 issued by the Controller of Molasses and Excise Commissioner U. P. a bone of contention for the petitioner which is sought to be quashed, reads as under :x x x x x x x3. Each sugar mill will ensure that the rates are not higher than the rates prevailing in the market in which case it will be construed that the sugar mills are not willing to supply the molasses to chemical units."x x x x x x x
(3.) We have heard Sri Rakesh Dwivedi, Senior Advocate appearing for the petitioners, the Chief Standing Counsel for the State authorities and Sri Bharatji Agarwal, Senior Advocate, appearing for chemical units (allottees of molasses) arrayed as party respondents 3 to 7.;