The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a fresh matter seeking direction to states to bring on record pending dues of sugarcane farmers and also action taken against mill owners.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, representing former Lok Sabha MP Raju Anna Shetti, submitted an identical matter that has already been admitted for consideration by the court and emphasised that dues of the farmers are over Rs 18,000 crore as on January 1, 2021. The petitioner claimed in the 2020-21 sugarcane season, sugarcane growers supplied sugar cane worth Rs 14,000 crore to the sugar mills but have only received Rs 4,448 crore towards payment.