Jute industry is nation's pride, needs to be revived: Calcutta High Court

Jute industry is nation's pride and it is important for all stakeholders to not only save but revive the jute industry, the Calcutta High Court recently said [Indian Jute Mills Association vs Union Of India]..Justice Amrita Sinha, taking note of the financial losses incurred by jute mills, said all organs of the government need to support the Jute Commissioner to act against those indulging in hoarding of the raw fibre."All the parties who are a part of the jute industry need to adopt a holistic approach and devise means not only to save but to revive the industry which is the pride of our country, especially Bengal. Reviving the industry will undoubtedly be a herculean task and joint effort of all stake holders is extremely important," the single-judge said.The Jute Commissioner is statutorily required to lead from the front, the Court added. .The Court was hearing a petition filed by the Indian Jute Mills Association challenging a notification issued by the Jute Commissioner of the Union Ministry of Textiles, in June last year under the Jute Textiles Control Order of 2016.As per the notification, the Jute Commissioner had notified ₹6,500 per quintal as the reasonable price for raw jute in respect of TD-5 variety in West Bengal.The notification mandated that no dealer, trader, agency or supplier or any other person shall sell or offer to sell any person or agency and no person, agency or company shall offer to purchase or purchase any raw jute at a price exceeding the reasonable price mentioned in the notification.The petitioners comprising over 35 jute mills, contended that the rate fixed by the commissioner was not reasonable as it did not consider the charges on account of freight, transportation, handling and storage cost of raw jute and it was contrary to the 2016 Control Order. The price fixed is absurdly low and cannot be implemented even with coercive measures, it was contended. The petitioners pointed out that since the fixed rate was not reasonable, they were being forced to procure raw jute at higher rates. Since they cannot sell their final products in the open market but have to sell the finished jute bags in bulk to the government, they are undergoing sustained financial loss meaning most mills have been compelled to shut down.Accordingly, a prayer was made to direct the authorities to re-fix the rates..Having heard the contentions, the single-judge noted that the Court was not an expert body to fix the price of any product but it is the task of the Jute Commissioner. "An onerous duty is cast upon the Jute Commissioner. It is not only his statutory duty but an obligation to fix the price of raw jute after taking into account the relevant considerations and to adopt all necessary methods to implement the said price, otherwise the price fixed will lose its relevance and the purchasers will be left at the mercy of the traders who are openly selling the product at rates higher than the notified rate," the Court said. The judge added that "something is going wrong somewhere" as the price of raw jute was spiralling upwards instead of coming down."There must be some loop holes which are required to be plugged. But who will bell the cat, is possibly the next relevant question. Taking advantage of the difference between the State and the Central, the hoarders and black marketers are taking active role in selling raw jute at an exorbitant rate," the judge noted.Raising the notified rate would not be the solution to the problem faced by the mills, the judgment further opined. "A check and balance is to be maintained. With a rise in the notified rate, the government will be liable to reimburse the mill owners the higher rate, which in turn will put a pressure on the exchequer and most likely, the higher rate will not reach the hands of the poor cultivators and will fizzle out in the middle rung," the Court said. The judge, therefore, ordered the Jute Commissioner to take positive steps and adopt stringent measures to implement the notified rate.Even so, if it appears that the notified rate cannot be adhered to, then the he shall review and re-fix the rate after taking into consideration the relevant factors as mentioned in the 2016 Control Order, the Court directed. .Senior Advocate Abhrajit Mitra with advocates Rajshree Kaharia, Sarvopriyo Mukherjee, Satadeep Bhattacharyya, Uttam Sharma appeared for the petitioners. Assistant Solicitor General Dhiraj Trivedi with advocates Dibashis Basu and Arun Bandyopadhyay appeared for the Union government.Senior Advocate Jayanta Kumar Mitra with advocates Joydip Banerjee and Rahul Karmakar appeared for the Jute Commissioner.Advocates Susovan Sengupta and Manas Kumar Sadhu appeared for the State.Advocates Saikat Basu, Abhishek Acharya, Soumya Mazumdar, Kumar Gupta, and Pranav Sharma appeared for the remaining respondents. .[Read Judgment]