Centre seeks discharge from oral statement in SC in GM mustard case

The Centre stressed that mustard is the most important edible oil and seed meal crop of India and the process sanctioned under the conditional approval on October 25, 2022, must continue and arrive at its conclusions.  -- Reports ETV Bharat's Sumit Saxena.

New Delhi:The Centre has filed an application in the Supreme Court in the GM Mustard case seeking a discharge from an oral statement made at the bar by Centre’s counsel that it would not take any precipitative action on the decision for the environmental release of genetically modified mustard for seed production and testing.

The application said: “An oral statement was made at the bar by the Additional Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the Union of India that the Government of India will not take further precipitative steps for environmental release under the conditional approval granted on 25.10.2022 till the next date of hearing”.

The application stressed that mustard is the most important edible oil and seed meal crop of India and the process sanctioned under the conditional approval on October 25, 2022, must continue and arrive at its conclusions. On Tuesday, a Centre’s counsel informed a bench of justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan about the application. The apex court sought a response from the petitioner NGO Gene Campaign upon it and scheduled the matter for a hearing next week.

The application added that while the same (the oral statement made at the bar) was not recorded in the order dated November 3, 2022, this statement has been honoured by the Union of India and no precipitative steps for a further environmental release of GM mustard hybrid DMH-11 subsequent to November 3, 2022, have been taken.

The Centre emphasized that the conditional approval of the environmental release of GM mustard hybrid DMH-11 has been the result of well-considered scientific evaluation, expert deliberation and regulatory review over the course of nearly 12 years, under a comprehensive regulatory regime.

The application said, “The oral statement on behalf of the Union of India on 03.11.2022 was made in the specific context of the present matter being listed for final hearing in the following week and was not intended to halt the entire process of research/testing under the conditional approval granted by the government of India for an extended period of time”.

The application said at present, India meets nearly 55-60 % of its edible oil demand through imports. “As such, indigenous development of transgenic varieties through the male sterility/restorer system is a critical element in ensuring India's future food security as this technology will be utilised to produce new hybrids with higher yields in future, thereby increasing agricultural output and farmer income," it said.

The Centre stressed that the huge policy implications involved deserve early resolution. With the second growing season under the conditional approval granted by the Union government approaching in the months of September and October of 2023, the Centre asked the court to consider discharging it from the oral statement made in a specific context for a limited purpose at the relevant time.

Petitioners have questioned the validity of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee decision of October 18 2022, and the subsequent decision of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change of October 25, to allow the environmental release of genetically modified mustard in five states.