MUMBAI, Jan. 6 -- The Bombay High Court has stayed the Maharashtra government's directive requiring sugar factories to pay specified levies to various relief funds as a precondition for obtaining crushing licences, holding that the state lacks the legal authority to impose such charges. A division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sandesh D Patil observed that if the petitions challenging the levy ultimately succeed, the state government would be required to refund the amounts already collected, along with interest. The court also directed the government not to deny crushing licences to sugar factories for non-payment of the levy and asked it to file its reply within four weeks. The matter has been posted for further hearing on January 14. The petitions were filed earlier this year by Baramati Agro Limited, a company led by NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, along with other sugar factories. They challenged a letter issued by the Commissioner of Sugar on October 27, 2025, which directed all sugar factories to pay a levy of Rs.10 per metric tonne of sugarcane crushed per season towards the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF), Rs.5 per metric tonne towards the Flood Relief Fund, and Rs.10 per metric tonne towards the Gopinath Munde Sugarcane Workers Welfare Corporation. According to the petitioners, the state government made payment of these amounts a mandatory condition for securing a crushing licence for the 2025-26 season. Senior counsel Girish Godbole, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the levy was illegal and contrary to the provisions of the Maharashtra Sugar Factories (Reservation of Areas and Regulation of Crushing and Sugar Supply) Order, 1984. He contended that the move amounted to "clear executive overreach without any statutory backing". The petitioners maintained that they were effectively coerced into paying the levy, as non-payment would result in denial of licences for the crushing season. The court stayed and set aside the October 27 letter issued by the Commissioner of Sugar....