Supreme Court orders status quo on GEAC's decision to approve GM mustard for commercial cultivation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered status quo on the government move to allow cultivation of genetically modified (GM) mustard in the country, barring its planting until the top court completes hearing a plea opposing the decision. This comes days after the country’s regulator of genetically modified plants and food products approved ‘environmental release’ of Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a geneticallyengineered variant of mustard developed by Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at Delhi University.

A bench of the Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for November 10.

Aruna Rodrigues, lead petitioner for the case, argued that GM mustard is an herbicide tolerant crop that can cause serious effects on human health and will also contaminate normal mustard. While the original petition was filed in 2005, seeking a moratorium on the release of any genetically modified organisms into the environment pending a comprehensive biosafety protocol in the public domain, there were subsequent applications filed later.


The regulator, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had on October 18 recommended ‘environmental release’ of the transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11, which means clearance for seed trials, demonstrations, and seed production. Several activist groups have opposed this, alleging that GM mustard hasn’t been evaluated as an herbicide tolerant crop posing potential risks.

GM mustard plants may also dissuade bees from pollinating the plant and this could have knock-off environmental catastrophes, they said. Those opposing the GM crops include Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that deals with economic issues.