The Allahabad High Court has expressed serious concern over the non-recovery of nearly Rs 1,936 crore in sugarcane farmers’ dues, including principal and interest, and directed all district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh to make every possible effort to recover the outstanding amount. The Lucknow bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order on August 31 while hearing a PIL filed by Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan convener V M Singh. The court directed the cane commissioner to indicate the timeframe within which the entire outstanding amount payable to farmers would be recovered. The matter will next be heard on October 15.
According to figures placed before the bench, recovery certificates (RCs) covering around Rs 4,405 crore in principal dues had been issued. Of this, approximately Rs 3,318.50 crore has been recovered, leaving around Rs 1,087 crore outstanding. Interest calculated at 15 per cent amounts to another Rs 849.52 crore, taking the total pending recovery to approximately Rs 1,936 crore.
No interest recovered
The court expressed particular concern over the failure to recover interest payable to farmers for delayed payments. Figures submitted by the cane commissioner showed that during 2023-24, around Rs 35,893 crore was payable to sugarcane farmers across 36 districts on the basis of the state advised price (SAP). Of this, around Rs 17,478 crore, or 48.70 per cent, was paid within the statutory period of 14 days. Another Rs 18,391 crore, representing 51.24 per cent of the amount, was paid after the deadline.
Interest at 15 per cent on these delayed payments works out to approximately Rs 614.74 crore. The bench noted with concern that not a single rupee had so far been recovered towards this interest. The court directed district magistrates across the state to make all possible efforts to recover amounts payable to farmers on the basis of revised RCs. The cane commissioner has also been asked to collect district-wise details of outstanding dues and, if possible, submit a mill-wise statement at the next hearing.
Former officials get notices
The bench also took serious note of cases in which RCs were issued after calculating interest at 12 per cent instead of the applicable 15 per cent, which could have resulted in an additional Rs 170 crore remaining unrecovered.
The court made four former cane commissioners — Sanjay R Bhusreddy, Prabhu N Singh, Pramod Kumar Upadhyay and Ministhi S Bhoosreddy — personally parties to the proceedings and issued notices seeking their responses. They have been asked to explain why RCs carrying the lower interest rate were issued despite the High Court’s December 23, 2021 judgment and why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
The four officials held the post of cane commissioner during the relevant period and retired in June 2025. The court has further sought clarification on the manner in which interest should be calculated — whether from the date the principal amount became due until the date of actual payment or only until the issuance of the recovery certificate.
The directions put renewed pressure on the state administration to accelerate recovery from defaulting sugar mills and ensure farmers receive both their principal dues and the statutory interest owed for delayed payments.