Stories
Supreme Court Urged to Hear Contempt Plea Over Genetically Modified Rice Release
- •The Supreme Court was asked to urgently list contempt petitions alleging violations of its 2024 judgment regarding genetically modified crops.
- •Lawyer Prashant Bhushan argued before a bench that approval has been granted for cultivating herbicide-tolerant GM basmati rice, threatening contamination.
- •The contempt plea, filed by activist Aruna Rodrigues, accuses senior government officials of wilfully disobeying court orders on GM crops.
- •The petition states that herbicide-tolerant basmati rice and gene-edited varieties were released commercially in violation of prior court assurances.
Key Questions Answered
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan urged the Supreme Court for an urgent listing of contempt petitions due to concerns over the recent approval given for the cultivation of herbicide-tolerant genetically modified basmati rice, which he argued could destroy and contaminate traditional basmati crops.
The contempt petition was filed in 2025 by activist Aruna Rodrigues as part of her PIL, seeking proceedings against senior government officials for alleged wilful disobedience of the Supreme Court's orders on the release of GM and gene-edited crops.
The Supreme Court's July 23, 2024, judgment directed the Centre to formulate a comprehensive national policy on genetically modified crops through a consultative process involving experts, state governments, and other stakeholders before releasing any such crops.