U.P.POLLUTTION CONTROL BOARD vs MAHALAKSHMI SUGAR MILLS CO.LTD. — SLP(C) No. 12654/1998

Summary The Supreme Court dismissed the U.P. Pollution Control Board's special leave petitions challenging High Court orders directing refund of illegally collected water cess. The Court held that since sugar and distillery industries were not covered under Entry 15 of the Water Cess Act 1977 (as declared in the Saraswati Sugar Mills case), the cess collection was unconstitutional and refunds were mandatory. The Court rejected arguments on maintainability, delay, and unjust enrichment, affirming that money collected without legal authority must be refunded. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.