In Brief
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) blacklisted 182 rice mills after a CBI investigation found they had supplied substandard rice. When blacklisted millers leased their mills to new entities to circumvent the ban, the new lessees sought paddy allocation. The Supreme Court held that the lease deeds did not comply with Registration Act requirements and could not serve as valid evidence of transfer of possessory rights. New lessees cannot claim allocation rights without first satisfying the original defaulting millers' liabilities. The appeals were allowed and orders setting aside FCI's ban were reversed.
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