SC Ruling On Sugarcane Pricing

• 09 Jun 2020

• Deciding on a plea filed by Western Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association, which questioned the power of the state government to fix a minimum price for sugarcane when the Centre had already set a price for the same, a Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court ruled that:
  1. The price which is fixed by the central government is the “minimum price" and the price which is fixed by the state government is the “advised price" which is always higher than the “minimum price" fixed by the central government and therefore, there is no conflict.
  2. It is only in a case where the “advised price" fixed by the state government is lower than the “minimum price" fixed by the central government, the provisions of the central enactments will prevail.
  3. So long as the “advised price" fixed by the state government is higher than the “minimum price" fixed by the central government, the same cannot be said to be void as per the provisions of the Constitution of India.