mgn 1 c.a-st-16843-11 in pil-20-06.sxw IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY APPELLATE CIVIL JURISDICTION CIVIL APPLICATION STAMP NO. 16843 OF 2011 IN PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION NO.20 OF 2006 Pandurang Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. ..Applicant Versus Shri Ashok N. Kulkarni ..Respondent & Ors. WITH WRIT PETITION NO.4688 OF 2011 Vitthalrao Shinde Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Maryadit ..Applicant Versus State of Maharashtra & Ors. ..Respondents WITH Mr. A.V. Anturkar with Mr. Sugandh Deshmukh for the Petitioner/applicant. Mr.S.R. Nargolkar, AGP for respondent State. Mr. Zakir Ali i/b. Bhushan Mahadik for respondent No.3. CORAM : MOHIT S. SHAH, C. J. AND SMT. RANJANA P. DESAI, J. 26 August 2011 PC: This is an application for direction to respondent No.1 Commissioner of Sugar to grant the applicant permission to make necessary modernization/expansion of the plant and machinery of the applicant. mgn 2 c.a-st-16843-11 in pil-20-06.sxw 2. 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 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 states that the applicant is not in the red and that the applicant will require an amount of Rs.14.00 crores for its expansion and modernisation of its factory, but for raising that amount the applicant will not require any amount or guarantee from the Government of Maharashtra. Mr.Anturkar states that the Managing Director of the applicant will also file an undertaking that the applicant will not take any guarantee of the State Government for its project. The said statements are supported by the affidavit of a responsible officer of the applicant. The Managing Director of the applicant society shall file an undertaking to the above 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 mgn 3 c.a-st-16843-11 in pil-20-06.sxw not be deemed to have expressed any opinion on the merits of the applicant’s application which shall be decided by the Commissioner of Sugar and State Government. Civil Application is accordingly disposed of. CHIEF JUSTICE SMT. RANJANA P. DESAI, J