S. Nagamuthu, J.

The weather became erratic. The monsoon failed. The rainfall was very poor. The dams and water bodies dried up. Mettur dam completely failed due to the water dispute with the Government of Karnataka. The crops withered away. The cattle in the agricultural farms died. This was between 2011 to 2014. In 2015, it was floods across the State of Tamil Nadu which drowned the crops. The farming community suffered irreparable loss. They were pushed into utter poverty. They could not repay the crop loan raised from the cooperative societies / banks and other financial institutions. But the societies / banks and other financial institutions did not stop taking legal action to recover the said loan outstanding. Unable to bear the loss and the pressure and harassment from the financial institutions, many farmers took the extreme step of committing suicide. Therefore, in an attempt to voice these grievances of the farmers, various agriculturists associations including the petitioner made demands to the Government, both at the Center and at the State, to extend their helping hands by granting relief to the farmers so as to liberate them from penury and to prevent further suicides. There were strikes and agitations by the farmers as their grievances were not heard.

2. When things stood thus, in the year 2016, the general election for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly was announced. The election was held during the month of May, 2016. Some of the major political parties who contested in the election gave assurances to the farmers that the crop loans raised by them would be waived by the new Government to be formed. After the election, the newly elected Government took charge on 23.05.2016. On the very same day, to fulfill the promise made in the election manifesto of the party which regained power, the Government, issued G.O.Ms.No.50, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection (CC1) Department dated 23.05.2016 granting waiver of outstanding crop loan for medium term (agriculture) loan and long term (farm sector) loan issued to "Small" and "Marginal Farmers" by the Cooperative Societies / Banks as on 31.03.2016.

3. For the effective implementation of the said Government Order, the Government issued guidelines by way of G.O.Ms.No.59, Cooperation, Food and Consumer Protection (CC1) Department dated 28.06.2016. Thereafter, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies issued a Circular in Circular No.Na.Ka.No.47/2006-07/T.1 dated 07.07.2006 issuing further guidelines to the cooperative societies / banks for the effective implementation of these two Government orders.

4. In these Government orders, as we have already pointed out, the waiver of the outstanding crop loan - medium term (agriculture) loan and long term (farm sector) loan as on 31.03.2016 was given only in favour of small and marginal farmers and not for the other farmers. As per the above Government Orders, a marginal farmer is the one whose "land holding" is up to 2.5 acres and a small farmer is the one whose "land holding" is from 2.5 acres to 5 acres as recorded in the land holding register and loan register of the society / bank at the time of sanction of loan. Thus, the farmers who have got land holdings of more than 5 acres are not extended the benefit of this crop loan waiver.

5. In this writ petition, the petitioner challenges the above Government orders on the ground of discrimination and arbitrariness as, according to him, it materially discriminates the farmers whose "land holding" exceeds five acres. The petitioner claims that the said benefit of the Government orders should have been extended to all farmers irrespective of the extent of their agricultural land holdings as on the date of sanction of loan.

6. At the outset, let us have a look into the above stated two Government orders which read as follows:

"Cooperation, Food and Consumer

Protection (CC1) Depa