The Supreme Court was urged on Friday to urgently list a contempt petition alleging a “wilful and deliberate” violation of judicial orders by top government officials regarding the commercial release of genetically modified (GM) and gene-edited crops.
The plea, moved by activist Aruna Rodrigues as part of a long-standing 2005 Public Interest Litigation (PIL), claims that the Centre proceeded with the release of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) rice varieties while the court was still deliberating on the matter, effectively making a “mockery of the judicial process.”
Allegations of Judicial Defiance
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing Rodrigues, informed a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the contempt plea—filed earlier—had yet to be listed for a formal hearing. The Chief Justice assured the counsel that he would “look into the submission.”
The petition names high-ranking officials as respondents, including Tanmay Kumar (Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), Devesh Chaturvedi (Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare), and Amandeep Garg (Chairperson, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee).
The core of the grievance lies in the commercial release of HT Basmati rice varieties, specifically branded as ‘RobiNOweed’, and genome-edited varieties like ‘Kamla’ (DRR Rice 100). According to the petitioner, these releases occurred in May 2024 and May 2025—periods during which the Supreme Court had either reserved its judgment or explicitly directed that no GM crops be released until a comprehensive national policy was formulated.
The Risk of Irreversible Contamination
The plea raises a “red alert” over the potential for irreversible contamination of India’s rice germplasm. India is recognized as the “centre of origin” for rice, housing more than 80,000 unique accessions.
The petition highlights that a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) previously appointed by the Supreme Court had recommended a total ban on HT crops in such regions. “The release of HT rice initiates irreversible contamination of India’s priceless rice germplasm,” the petition stated, warning that such a move could collapse India’s status as a premier exporter of non-GMO Basmati rice—a trade valued at over USD 12 billion (approx. ₹1 lakh crore).
Background and the July 2024 Judgment
The legal battle traces back to a 2013 final report by the TEC, which found HT crops to be “environmentally unsustainable, socio-economically detrimental, and scientifically unsafe” for Indian conditions. The report also flagged herbicides like ‘Roundup,’ often used with HT crops, as probable carcinogens.
Despite these findings and repeated assurances from the Centre between 2016 and 2017 that no environmental release would occur, the petitioner alleges that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) announced the commercial release of ‘RobiNOweed’ on May 24, 2024—while the court’s judgment was reserved. More recently, on May 4, 2025, the Agriculture Minister reportedly released the ‘Kamla’ and ‘Pusa DST Rice 1’ varieties.
These actions are alleged to be in direct contravention of the Supreme Court’s unanimous directive issued on July 23, 2024. While the court delivered a split verdict on the validity of GM Mustard, it was unanimous in ordering the Union of India to evolve a national policy on GM crops through a consultative process involving experts and state governments before any environmental release.
The petitioner seeks the initiation of contempt proceedings against the respondents for “wilful and deliberate disobedience” of the court’s standing orders and the subsequent July 2024 judgment.
