Judgment :-

DalveerBhandari, J.

1. The crucial issue involved in this group of matters is whether the State of Uttar Pradesh has the authority to fix the State Advised Price (for short, `SAP'), which is required to be paid over and above the minimum price fixed by the Central Government?

2. It is submitted by the appellants that the power to regulate distribution, sale or purchase of cane under Section 16 of the U.P. Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as the `U.P. Sugarcane Act') does not include the power to fix a price. According to the appellants, this aspect has been comprehensively dealt with by the Constitution Bench judgment of this court in Ch. Tika Ramji and others etc. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and others (1956) SCR 393. In this case this Court enumerated the legislative history of laws relating to sugar and sugarcane of both Centre and States. This Court came to the specific conclusion that the power reserved to the State Government to fix the minimum price of sugarcane which existed in U.P. Act 1 of 1938 was deleted from the U.P. Sugarcane Act since that power was being exercised by the Centre under Clause 3 of the Sugar and