The main legal point established in the judgment is that individual cane growers do not have the right to challenge the reservation or assignment of cane areas to sugar factories.

JUDGMENT :

Yogendra Kumar Srivastava, J.

1. Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State-respondents and Sri Revindra Singh, learned counsel for the fourth respondent.

2. The petitioners herein asserting themselves to be sugarcane growers who are residents of Village Nawabganj, Tehsil Sahaswan, District Budaun have filed the present writ petition seeking a direction to the respondents to attach the Zarifnagar Cane Purchase Centre to D.S.M. Sugar Mills, Rajpura, District Sambhal for the convenience of the sugarcane growers in their village. A further prayer has been made for a direction to decide their representation which is stated to have been submitted before the respondents.

3. Learned Standing Counsel appearing for the State-respondents and Sri Ravindra Singh, learned counsel for the fourth respondent have raised a preliminary objection that the writ petition at the behest of the individual cane grower is not maintainable and that any grievance in this regard can be espoused through the cane growers' cooperative society of the area in question. It is submitted that the writ petition filed by the petitioners claiming themselves to be sugarcane growers of the area is misconceived and is liable to be dismissed.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

5. The regulation of supply and purchase of sugarcane in the State of U.P. is governed in terms of the provisions contained under the Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 [the Act, 1953] and the rules made thereunder namely the Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Rules, 1954 [the Rules, 1954].

6. The aforementioned Act, 1953 and the Rules, 1954 contain detailed and elaborate provisions regarding supply of the sugarcane by the cane growers, its purchase by the sugar factories and payment of price thereof. In terms of the scheme of the Act, 1953, a mechanism is provided for ensuring the required continuous supply of sugarcane to the sugar factories during the crushing season. Keeping in mind the interest of the sugarcane growers, cane growers' cooperative societies, sugar factories and also the inter se interest of the sugar factories in the area, the supply of sugarcane to the sugar factories in the quantity which may reasonably be required by them for production in a particular crushing season is regulated by the provisions of the Act, 1953.

7. A duty has been cast upon the Cane Commissioner, under Section 12 of the Act, 1953 to require the occupier of each factory to furnish in the manner and by the date specified in an order to be issued by him an estimate of the quantity of the sugarcane which would be required by a factory during such crushing season or seasons as may be specified in the order. The Cane Commissioner is obliged to examine every such estimate and is enjoined to publish the same with such modifications, if any, as he may make.

8. The publication of the estimate is made for the purpose of making it known to all sugar factories that the estimates prepared by them of the requisite quantity of sugarcane for a particular crushing season or seasons has been accepted by the Cane Commissioner with or without modification. Section 13 of the Act, 1953 enjoins upon the occupier of the factory to maintain a register of all cane growers and cane growers' cooperative society or societies that sell sugarcane to the factory. In terms of Section 14 the State Government may provide for survey of the area which is proposed to be reserved or assigned for supply of sugarcane to a factory, and in terms of Section 15 the Cane Commissioner is empowered to issue an order declaring the reserved and the assigned area for the purposes of supply of sugarcane to a factory.

9. The declaration of the reserved area and assigned area under Section 15 is to be made by the Cane Commissioner after consulting the sugar factory and the cane growers' cooperative societies in t