Supreme Court's split decision on environmental release of GM mustard

24-Jul-2024 01:50 PM

New Delhi. The Supreme Court has given a split order on the environmental release of GM mustard. The two judges had different opinions on the validity of the conditional permission given by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), an institution of the Ministry of Environment,

heard by the bench of two judges. Both the judges could not agree on the approval given by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid - TMH-11.

One judge said that the decision taken by the GEAC and the government is not correct and deserves to be changed, while the other judge said that giving permission for conditional environmental release is not inconsistent with the law and there is no reason why it should not be used. 

Due to the difference in the views of both the judges, the bench directed the registrar to send this matter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court so that the humane Chief Justice can constitute an appropriate bench to consider the various aspects of this entire matter afresh. 

It is noteworthy that on 18 October 2022, GAC approved a proposal for commercial cultivation of GM mustard, which could have made mustard the first food category crop in India.

But environmental organizations opposed it and ultimately the matter reached the Supreme Court where no decision has been taken on it yet.