mgn 1 c.a-136-11 in pil-20.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE CIVIL JURISDICTION CIVIL APPLICATION 136 OF 2011 IN PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO.20 OF 2006 Nira Bhima Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. ..Applicant Versus The Commissioner of Sugar & Ors. ..Respondents Mr.S.P.Kadam for the Applicant Mr.S.R. Nargolkar, AGP for respondent State. CORAM : MOHIT S. SHAH, C. J. AND SMT. RANJANA P. DESAI, J. 26 August 2011 PC: Leave to amend the prayer clause. Amendment to be carried out forthwith. 2. This is an application for direction to respondent No.1 Commissioner of Sugar to grant permission to the applicant to make necessary expansion in its crushing capacity and modernisation of machinery for its co-generation project. 3. The application is made in view of the order dated 14 March 2011 of this Court in this P.I.L. wherein the petitioner has made a grievance that the co-operative sugar factories who had obtained the funds from the State Government or the guarantees from the State Government, are now mgn 2 c.a-136-11 in pil-20.sxw in the red and the persons in the management of co-operative societies are themselves coming forward and purchasing the sugar factories through other corporate entities. In view of the above grievance, we had directed that till the next date of hearing the Commissioner of Sugar, State Government shall not give permission to any sugar factory for expansion/modernization/alteration/addition programme, without the leave of this Court. 4. The learned Counsel for the applicant has invited our attention to the averments made in the application particularly the averments that the applicant is financially stable, has been earning profits for the last 3 years and has been repaying all its loans regularly and none of the loan is due or overdue. It is also stated that there are no allegations of misuse of the loans against the applicant. It is also submitted that the projects of production of electricity are being encouraged by the Central as well as State Government. The learned Counsel for the applicant further states that the applicant is not going to take any State funds or guarantees for the loans that it may take for the above projects. The Managing Director of the applicant society shall file an undertaking to this effect within one week from today. 5. In view of the above averments in the application and the statements made by the learned Counsel for the applicant and the oral undertaking, we clarify that the order dated 14 March 2011 shall not prevent the Commissioner of Sugar from considering the applicant’s application for permission for expansion/modernization of machinery for its co-generation project on its own merits. It is clarified that we may not be deemed to have expressed any opinion on the merits of the applicant’s application which shall be decided by the Commissioner of mgn 3 c.a-136-11 in pil-20.sxw Sugar and State Government. Civil Application is accordingly disposed of. CHIEF JUSTICE SMT. RANJANA P. DESAI, J