The Supreme Court has issued notice on a plea challenging the Bombay High Court ruling on sugarcane farmers’ entitlement to FRP at the start of the crushing season. The question of stay will be examined at the next hearing.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stepped in on a matter that directly affects sugarcane farmers across Maharashtra. On Friday, the top court issued a notice on a petition that challenges the Bombay High Court ruling regarding when sugarcane farmers are entitled to receive the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for their produce.
The petition argues that the FRP should be paid at the very beginning of the sugarcane crushing season.
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The matter came up before a bench consisting of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta. After hearing the initial submissions, the bench said,
“Notice returnable in 4 weeks.”
The court further directed the parties to complete the filing process on time.
The bench ordered,
“Counter to be filed in 4 weeks, rejoinder in 2 weeks thereafter.”
The judges also made it clear that they will look into the issue of granting a stay when the case comes up again. The bench noted,
“The question of stay is to be examined at the next hearing.”
This development is significant because the timing of FRP payments is a long-standing demand of sugarcane farmers. FRP, which the government fixes, is the minimum price that sugar factories must pay to farmers for their crop.
Farmers argue that being paid upfront at the start of the crushing season would protect them from financial distress, as delays in payments have been a major concern in the sector.
Background
The dispute goes back to multiple petitions filed before the Bombay High Court, where farmer associations demanded that sugar mills must pay FRP at the very beginning of the crushing season, instead of spreading payments over time.
The High Court, however, ruled in a way that did not fully accept the farmers’ demand, leading to strong dissatisfaction among cultivators.
FRP is determined every year by the central government under the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, based on factors such as cost of production, recovery of sugar from cane, and a reasonable margin for farmers.
While the law requires sugar mills to pay farmers within 14 days of cane delivery, in practice, payments are often delayed for months.
This has caused repeated farmer agitations across sugar-producing states, especially Maharashtra, which is India’s largest sugarcane-growing region after Uttar Pradesh.
Farmer groups argue that immediate payment at the start of the season is essential to meet their household expenses, repay debts, and reinvest in farming.
Sugar mills, on the other hand, contend that upfront payments put immense financial strain on them, as their revenue from sugar sales comes much later.
This balance between protecting farmers’ rights and maintaining the financial health of sugar mills has been the subject of litigation and policy debates for years.
With the Supreme Court now examining the issue and notices issued to the parties involved, the matter is expected to have a major impact on both sugar mills and lakhs of farmers dependent on sugarcane cultivation for their livelihood.
The next hearing will be crucial, as the court will not only review the submissions but also decide whether to put a temporary hold on the Bombay High Court’s ruling until the case is finally decided.
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