Lucknow, Aug 5 The Allahabad High Court has taken a serious view of recovery certificates being issued with lesser interest on delayed payment of sugarcane dues to farmers in Uttar Pradesh and sought details of former cane commissioners who issued such documents after December 2, 2021.
A Lucknow bench of justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2006 by V M Singh, convenor of Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan.
The court directed the Uttar Pradesh Cane Commissioner to furnish the names of all former commissioners who held office after December 2, 2021 and issued recovery certificates under the Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953.
The bench observed that issuance of recovery certificates carrying 12 per cent interest instead of 15 per cent, as mandated under law, prima facie appeared to amount to contempt of the high court's judgement dated December 23, 2021.
It also said it would examine whether the action resulted from collusion or was intended to confer financial benefit on sugar mills at the cost of cane growers.
During the hearing, the cane commissioner acknowledged that recovery certificates had been issued with the lower rate of interest and informed the court that an order dated July 30 had been issued to rectify the certificates.
The bench directed that outstanding cane dues be recovered with 15 per cent interest and asked the authorities to apprise the court on the next date of hearing about the recoveries made, the additional amount payable to cane growers and the corrections carried out in the recovery certificates.
The court also directed the cane commissioner to file a fresh affidavit detailing sugarcane dues payable to farmers during the last three years, the amount paid within the statutory 14-day period, the amount paid after the deadline and the interest payable on delayed payments.
The cane commissioner informed the court that data relating to delayed payment of cane dues from the 2023-24 season onwards had been digitised and that the process would continue.
Appreciating the initiative, the bench observed that digitisation would prevent authorities from later claiming that relevant data was unavailable with the cane commissioner's office.
The court further sought details of all unsatisfied recovery certificates and the amounts outstanding under them.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 31, and the cane commissioner has been directed to join the proceedings through video conferencing.
