The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday raided the premises of seven distilleries of major sugar companies for suspected irregularities in alcohol production, stocks and transaction.
The raids were conducted despite the state government lost a case in the Allahabad High Court recently over its amendment of certain clauses of the UP Sheera Niyantran Adhiniyam 1964, including changing the definition of the expression “molasses for captive consumption?. Coming down heavily against the state, the court opined that the amended UP Sheera Niyantran Adhiniyam ?suffers from callous exercise of power and it can safely be concluded that the state has over-stepped its limit of power.?
Major sugar companies in whose distilleries the raids have been conducted include Bajaj Hindusthan, the Birla group, Dhampur Sugars, Triveni Industries and a few stand alone mills.
It may be mentioned that some of the major sugar companies in the state, which also have attached distillery units, including Triveni Engineering & Industries, Bajaj Hindustan, Dalmia Cement, Tikaula Sugar Mills, Balrampur Chini Mills, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries, Dhampur Sugar Mills, Simbhaoli Sugars, Mawana Sugars, DCM Shriram Industries and few individual millers filed separate writ petitions questioning the validity of some clauses of the UP Sheera Niyantran Adhiniyam 1964, including the levy of “Administrative Charges” on the molasses which is carried outside the premises of the sugar factories for their own distilleries located at distinct places by the state government and also for changing the definition of “molasses for captive consumption”, by stating that captive distillery only means those units which are located inside the mill premises and not those which are located at some distance away from the mother factory.
Consequent to the HC ruling the state government moved to the Supreme Court but even the apex court refused to quash the HC order and has fixed a hearing for the third week in July.
Speaking to FE, the Uttar Pradesh Excise Commissioned Mahesh Gupta said admitted that raids were on at some of the distillery units in the state. ?Raids are being conducted for the suspected irregularities that have come to the fore in the molasses production stock and its transaction in some of the distillery units,? he stated.
However, the sugar industry is of the view that the state government is using strong arm tactics against it as the millers had challenged the amendments made in the UP Sheera Niyantran Adhiniyam 1964. ?Ever since some of the companies filed writ petitions in the Allahabad HC, the state government has deliberately gone slow on issuing them permits for sale of alcohol, including ethanol, resulting in the failure of commitments on the part of the industry.