The Supreme Court has been urged to urgently take up a contempt petition accusing the Centre and senior government officials of violating its directions on genetically modified (GM) crops, following allegations that herbicide-tolerant GM basmati rice varieties have been released for cultivation without a comprehensive national policy.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Aruna Rodrigues, raised the issue before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana on Monday. He submitted that approval for the cultivation of herbicide-tolerant GM basmati rice had now been granted and requested an early hearing of the contempt plea.
The petition, which forms part of Rodrigues’ long-running public interest litigation on GM crops, alleges wilful and deliberate disobedience of the Supreme Court’s July 23, 2024, judgment and earlier orders. In May, Bhushan had similarly sought an early listing of the plea before the Chief Justice-led bench, which said it would look into the request.
The July 2024 judgment delivered a split verdict on the validity of the Centre’s 2022 conditional approval for the environmental release of GM mustard. However, the judges unanimously directed the government to formulate a comprehensive national policy on GM crops covering research, cultivation, trade and commerce, through consultation with experts, state governments and other stakeholders.
According to the petition, the alleged releases of herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties branded as ‘RobiNOweed’ in May 2024, followed by gene-edited rice varieties in May 2025, took place when the Supreme Court’s proceedings and directions made the issue particularly contentious. It specifically names DRR Rice 100, marketed as ‘Kamla’, and Pusa DST Rice 1 among the gene-edited varieties.
The petitioner contends that the commercial release of these varieties breached assurances given by the Centre between 2016 and 2017 that no environmental release of GM crops would take place before the issue was addressed by the court.
A major concern raised in the plea is the potential contamination of India’s rice germplasm, comprising more than 80,000 accessions. India’s position as a centre of rice origin and genetic diversity, it argues, makes the release of herbicide-tolerant varieties particularly consequential. The petition also warns of possible damage to India’s non-GMO basmati export trade, valued at more than $12 billion.
The plea cites a 2013 report by a Technical Expert Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, which recommended a complete ban on herbicide-tolerant crops, particularly in regions and crops associated with genetic diversity. It also raised environmental and health concerns over herbicides used with such crops.
The petitioner has sought contempt proceedings against the officials concerned, arguing that the alleged releases took place despite the court’s directions to establish a national policy first. The Supreme Court’s consideration of the plea could bring renewed scrutiny to the regulatory framework governing GM and gene-edited crops in India.