The petitioner, a sugar company, filed a writ petition seeking declaration to sell free sale sugar after complying with an interim order. The court held the petition became infructuous as the sale was completed under the interim directives.
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD (Special Original Jurisdiction)
THURSDAY, THE FIRST DAY OF MARCH TWO THOUSAND AND TWELVE
PRESENT
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA
WRIT PETITION No.25499 of 2007
Between: M/s.NCS Sugar Limited, Hyderabad, rep.by its General Manager K.V.L.N.Bhaswanth
..... PETITIONER
AND
Union of India, Rep.by its Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution (Department of Sugar & Edible Oils) Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi and 2 others
.....RESPONDENTS
The Court made the following:
THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA
WRIT PETITION No.25499 of 2007
O R D E R:
This writ petition is filed aggrieved by the action on the part of the respondents in applying Clause-4 of the Sugar (Control) Order, 1966 and Section 3D of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to the entire sugar produced by the petitioners. The petitioner has prayed for a declaration that the petitioner-company is entitled to sell its free sale
sugar stocks manufactured during the seasonal year 2007-2008. This Court while admitting the writ petition on 30.11.2007, granted interim order directing the respondents to permit the petitioner company to sell its free sale sugar stock manufactured during the seasonal year 2007-2008 to discharge its contractual and statutory liability, subject to the condition that the petitioner-company clears the dues payable to the farmers for the sugar cane crop of the previous year and for the present crop as well as other statutory dues.
The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that in pursuance of the aforesaid interim order, the petitioner-company had sold out free sale sugar manufactured during the seasonal sugar year 2007-2008. He further submitted that since the seasonal year 2007-2008 has already been elapsed long back and the petitioner had sold out the free sale sugar manufactured by it for the said seasonal year, nothing survives in the writ petition and therefore, the same may be dismissed as infructuous. Further, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the respondents be restrained from initiating any penal proceedings against the petitioner-company for having sold the free sale sugar in pursuance of the interim order passed by this Court.
The learned counsel for the respondents submitted that as the petitioner company has already sold the free sale sugar manufactured during the seasonal year 2007-2008 pursuant to the interim order of this Court, no proceedings as alleged by the petitioner company would be initiated for the said period and that no further directions be issued as to initiation or not initiation of proceedings for the other seasonal years.
After hearing the learned counsel for the parties, I am of the considered opinion that as the petitioner had sold out the free sale sugar manufactured during the seasonal year 2007-2008 pursuant to the interim order of this Court, therefore, this writ petition has been rendered infructuous. However, the respondents shall not initiate any penal proceedings against the petitioner company for the sale of the free sale
sugar manufactured during the seasonal year 2007-2008.
The Writ Petition is dismissed as having become infructuous.
There shall be no order as to costs.
______________________ ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA,J
Dated: 01.03.2012 Dsr
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the writ petition seeking declaration to sell free sale sugar becomes infructuous after the petitioner sold the sugar pursuant to an interim order.
M/s.NCS Sugar Limited
Union of India
Ashutosh Mohanta
As recorded by the court registry
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