ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has admitted a plea for hearing filed by 20 sugar mill owners against Sindh High Court (SHC) decision against fixing sugarcane price at Rs182 per maund and the hearing was adjourned till the second week of February.
The petitioners stated in their appeal that the Sindh government had issued two notifications last year to fix the rate of sugarcane. According to the first notification, sugarcane price was fixed Rs182 per 40kg but later issued another notification and fixed price Rs151 per 40kg.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Saqib Nisar heard the appeal against the Sindh High Court judgment. The petitioners have made Sindh chief secretary, provincial secretaries for Food, Industries, Agriculture and Sindh Abadgar Board as respondents.
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, appearing on behalf of the mill owners, argued that the rate of the sugarcane was very high which the mill owners could not pay. He informed the bench that Abadgar in Sindh burning the sugar crops, which has created crisis in Sindh, as the mills have stopped crushing of sugarcane.
Raza Rabbani representing ‘Abadgar’ contended that in interior Sindh the mills mafia is active and had closed mills for 13 days, when the price was fixed Rs182 per 40kg. He maintained it was not the jurisdiction of the High Court to fix rates of sugarcane.
Advocate General Sindh Fateh Malik proposed if both the parties were agreed then the Sindh government could fix sugarcane price at Rs170 per maund. The bench appreciated this suggestion. However, the sugar mill owners did not approve it.
The Court, therefore, ordered the counsels for both the parties to submit their legal points in written form and stated it would pass the judgment in view of points.
