Sugar mills case: No matter if Tareen’s mills sold out, says SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday observed that no matter if Jahangir Tareen's sugar mills are sold out as it declined to reopening the sugar mills owned by the Sharif family in south Punjab and ordered five sugar mills in the area to devise a complete plan for purchasing sugarcane from the farmers by Tuesday.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, resumed hearing in an appeal filed by the sugar farmers’ body — CPLA — against the Lahore High Court’s verdict declaring the relocation of Sharif family’s three sugar mills in southern Punjab illegal.

The court directed representatives of the five sugar mills to formulate a strategy for lifting the sugarcane from the growers and submit report before it. During the course of hearing counsel representing the growers informed the court that the sugarcane was left in the field of around 29,4000 acres of land while sugarcane of Rs17 billion was available in Rahimyar Khan district. The chief justice, however, observed that as other sugar mills were not operating in the area, who asked the farmers to grow more sugarcane. The chief justice observed that the Lahore High Court had declared illegal Ittefaq Chaudhry and Haseeb Waqas sugar mills. He said that there was no justification of re-opening of non-operational mills.

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, counsel for Jehangir Tareen, however, again assured the court of purchasing the sugarcane from the growers. On last hearing, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Jamaludin Wali (JDW) Sugar Mills owner Jehangir Tareen, along with four sugar mills owners, expressed his willingness to purchase the harvested sugarcane from all the farmers affected by the closure of the Sharif family sugar mills.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan had given an undertaking before the court that his client along with the owners of Hamza, Ashraf, RYK and Indus sugar mills was ready to buy the harvested sugarcane from the growers at the rate fixed by the government.

On Monday, in order to resolve the matter, Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar asked for constituting a three-member committee comprising additional judge, representatives from sugar mills as well as representatives of farmers giving complete plan by Tuesday for purchasing sugarcane.

The cane commissioner told the court that around 57 spots had been established for purchasing the sugarcane. While the growers complained to the court that severe injustice was being done to them.

The chief justice asked the counsel for the growers as to whether the farmers were brought in for exerting pressure on the court. The court directed that all the parties should hold a meeting at the office of Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan with direction to cane commissioner to attend the meeting also. The court directed that representatives of sugar mills and farmers should submit their respective proposals and the court after examining them will pass an appropriate order.

The court assured that the farmers would get the rate, fixed by the government for purchasing the sugarcane and adjourned further hearing till February 21. The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad had filed a civil petition for Leave to Appeal (CPLA) through the Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon challenging the LHC verdict which in September last year declared the relocation of Sharif family’s three sugar mills as illegal.

It pleaded for granting leave to appeal and prayed for suspending the operation of the LHC verdict. The mills affected by the LHC decision included the Chaudhry Sugar Mills, Ittefaq Sugar Mills, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills and Abdullah Sugar Mills.