Now Reading: SC urged to list contempt plea over GM rice release
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SC urged to list contempt plea over GM rice release
The Supreme Court on Monday, 12 October, was urged to urgently list contempt petitions alleging the Centre violated its 2024 judgment on genetically modified crops after the alleged approval of herbicide-tolerant GM basmati rice for cultivation. Lawyer Prashant Bhushan told a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant that the variety, branded 'RobiNOweed', was commercially released in May 2024, while gene-edited varieties 'Kamla' and Pusa DST Rice 1 were released in May 2025.
Bhushan argued the contempt petitions filed in 2025 by activist Aruna Rodrigues are unrelated to a separate reference on GM mustard and can be heard by a regular contempt bench. The plea seeks proceedings against senior officials for alleged wilful disobedience of the court's July 2024 direction to formulate a national GM crop policy through consultation before any release. The bench is yet to decide on listing.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources carried identical copy, reporting lawyer Prashant Bhushan's urgent request to the Supreme Court to list contempt petitions over the alleged approval of GM basmati rice. The Economic Times and The Hindu Business Line each gave verbatim coverage of Bhushan's submissions, the 2024 split-judgment context, and the allegations against the Centre. Neither outlet added independent reporting or editorial framing. The uniform coverage leaves the narrative driven entirely by Bhushan's claims before the bench. The next procedural step now rests with the Chief Justice's bench, which heard the mention on Monday, 12 October.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
