SC delivers split verdict on release of GM mustard

New Delhi, July 23 – The Supreme Court on Tuesday delivered a split verdict on a batch of pleas opposing the release of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into the environment, unless a robust regulatory system is put in place by the government.

The split judgment was given by a Division Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol on the legality of the clearance given by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for release of Genetically Modified (GM) mustard.

Quashing the approval of the GEAC, Justice Nagarathna, in her opinion, held that the decision was taken in gross violation of public trust, without conducting any indigenous studies specific to the country’s unique biodiversity.

On the other hand, Justice Karol upheld the approval for release of GM mustard, rejecting the contention to quash the clearance given by GEAC on account of manifest arbitrariness.

Resultantly, the matter has been referred to the Chief Justice of India for appropriate orders for the constitution of a larger Bench to deliver an authoritative pronouncement on the subject.

In January this year, the two-judge SC Bench had reserved its verdict after hearing the oral arguments advanced by Attorney General (AG) R Venkataramani and Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, the senior law officers representing the Centre and advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for the petitioner NGOs and environmentalists.

During the hearing, SG Mehta said that by employing GM mustard hybrids, the domestic production of edible oils will increase while reducing the dependency on other exporting countries.

“The only question is if we should be growing it here or importing from other countries…we need more food security by growing indigenous varieties and less foreign dependency,” he had said.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the PIL litigants, had contended that the case relates to biosafety of GM crops and consuming them could result in toxicity, allergies and other “unintended consequences.”

Referring to various scientific reports, he had said that GM crops have revealed adverse impacts on agriculture and the environment and it may pose a threat of contaminating other flora and fauna of the country.

“Therefore, the issue of regulation and biosafety of these Genetically Modified Organisms has become a major issue across the world,” Bhushan had said.

Earlier in August 2023, the top court had refused to pass any urgent directions on the Centre’s application which had sought release of GM mustard for seed production and testing.

“The environment and ecology has to be maintained. One year, here or there, does not matter. The environmental harm cannot be reversed,” it had told the Centre.