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Centre seeks to withdraw assurance that it won’t cultivate GM Mustard
The transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at Delhi University
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear next week the Union government’s plea seeking withdrawal of its November 2022 assurance that it will not go ahead with the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard in the country.
A bench comprising justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan on Tuesday took up the Centre’s application for hearing and sought the response of NGO, Gene Campaign, which had filed a petition in the matter in 2004, activist Aruna Rodrigues and others. As the petitioners sought time to respond, the bench listed the matter for next week.
Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for one of the petitioners, said, “The Centre is seeking discharge from its assurance given to court on November 3. We need to respond to this application, which was filed late last night [Monday].”
The bench observed that the matter has to be heard again. “That doesn’t mean that you (Centre) can now withdraw the assurance. We will issue notice on the application and list it for next week,” the court said.
On November 3, 2022, additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, had given an oral assurance to the court that “no precipitative action” will be taken by the government.
The assurance came after several petitions challenged the environmental release clearance granted to transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) on October 25.
On Tuesday, ASG Bhati was not present in court and a passover was sought on her behalf.
In its application, the Centre said, “The oral statement made on behalf of the Union of India on November 3 was in the specific context of the present matter being listed for final hearing the following week. This was not intended to halt the entire process of research/testing under the conditional approval by the government (on October 25) for an extended period of time.”
The Centre further informed the court that the second growing season under the conditional approval granted by the MoEFCC is also approaching in the months of September and October this year. The application requested the court to “consider discharging the Union of India from the oral statement made on November 3”.
The oral assurance was made before a bench headed by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, who has since retired. Close to his retirement in May this year, justice Maheshwari expressed his inability to conclude arguments and deliver judgment.
The petitioners in this case had relied on findings of a technical expert committee that found these GM crops “unsustainable” and “unsuitable” for India noting that the herbicides sprayed on the herbicide-tolerant crops, including GM mustard, could cause cancer.
The issue of genetically modified organisms (GMO) has been before the top court since 2004, when the first PIL was filed by Gene Campaign, followed by petitions by Rodrigues and others who approached the court in 2005. The PILs sought transparency in the results of field trials conducted on GM crops and demanded that a comprehensive and rigorous biosafety protocol be put in place by GEAC before the grant of clearance to any GMO.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who represented Rodrigues in the court, said over 25 countries, including France, Germany, Switzerland and Russia, have banned GMO while substantial restrictions on GMO exist in over 60 countries.
The Centre has claimed that mustard is the most important edible oil and seed meal crop in the country. The bulk of the edible oil demand, nearly 55 to 60%, is met through imports. The development of indigenous transgenic varieties of mustard will increase agricultural output and farmer income, the application filed by Centre said.
The transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11 has been developed by the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) at Delhi University. So far, the Centre has approved only one GM crop— Bt cotton— for commercial cultivation in 2002.
