HC breather to senior UP mill officials

The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court today stayed the arrest of senior officials at several Uttar Pradesh sugar mills till the next hearing on March 11.

The mills had moved HC on January 21, challenging the FIRs lodged against them by the state government for alleged irregularities in the procurement of cane from farmers.

After hearing the petitions, a division bench, comprising Justices Abdul Mateen and Ved Pal, posted the next hearing in the case for March 11.

The breather was provided to Mehtab Singh of Bajaj Hindusthan, Bal Krishna Mal of Roza Sugar Works (Shahjahanpur district), Pushpendra Kumar Lakhotia and Jagbir Singh of Govind Sugar Mill (Lakhimpur Kheri).

The petitioners had sought stay on their arrest and quashing of FIRs lodged against them by district authorities under the Essential Commodities Act and UP Sugar Regulation of Supply and Purchase Act.

A few other mills were provided similar relief by the Allahabad HC on Monday. Alleging malpractices by the state’s private sugar mills, the government has registered about 75 FIRs so far in this crushing season.

The government has charged the mills with causing revenue losses to the exchequer and the cane societies by procuring cane illegally from farmers, especially at a time when sugar prices were ruling high. In the last crushing season, 19 FIRs were registered.

The government has maintained the mills were procuring cane illegally to cash in on the high sugar prices, following which raids were conducted by joint teams of state excise and sugarcane departments.