Supreme Court's Split Verdict on GM Mustard: A Call for National Policy

The Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on the Centre's decision approving GM mustard crop release. While the Court directed a national policy for GM crops, Justices Nagarathna and Karol diverged on the decisions' validity, necessitating review by the Chief Justice. The Centre is urged to involve multiple stakeholders in the policy formulation.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a split verdict regarding the Centre's 2022 decision to grant conditional approval for the environmental release of GM mustard crop. Despite the divided opinion, the court unanimously mandated that the Centre devise a national policy for GM crops involving research, cultivation, trade, and commerce.

On October 18, 2022, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) had recommended the release, followed by the Centre's approval on October 25, 2022. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol gave conflicting judgments on these decisions, referring the matter to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for further adjudication.

Justice Nagarathna criticized the approvals as vitiated and in potential violation of public trust, noting the absence of health impact considerations by the Ministry of Health. Justice Karol, however, viewed the decisions as sound policy measures, endorsing the conditional approval and ongoing field trials of the GM mustard hybrid DMH-11.

(With inputs from agencies.)