Spurious Soybean seeds: SC stays operation of HC order that directed criminal action against manufacturers & suppliers

SLP filed through manufacturer Phi Seeds Private Limited and others sought from the Supreme Court a stay on the operation of June 26 and July 7 orders passed by the HC and urged that till the final disposal of SLP, police authorities be restrained from taking coercive action under the crimes registered against the officials of the companies.

Petitioners submitted that the HC did not verify the credibility of news reports and issued ‘blanket’ directions regarding the involvement of seed manufacturers and suppliers without any evidence or material before the Court. The plea stated that the company is adversely affected as HC observations will come in way for it to seek appropriate reliefs against criminal action.

The state agriculture department had received more than 50,000 complaints from farmers, whose soybean seeds have reportedly failed to germinate. The department has filed FIRs against at least 23 seed companies, who are in the process of replacing the seeds for farmers.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court on July 7 had said information supplied by the agricultural department indicated that its officials were more inclined towards favouring seed companies and vendors in connection with the sale of spurious soybean seeds to thousands of farmers in rural Maharashtra. The court had also warned of action against the chairman and directors of the Maharashtra State Seeds Corporation Limited, also known as MAHABEEJ, if its top officials were found to have joined hands with private companies.

A division bench of Justices Tanaji V Nalawade and Shrikant D Kulkarni had passed orders while hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) which took cognizance of news reports that no action had been initiated against seed vendors and companies, despite complaints by nearly 2,000 farmers in districts such as Nanded, Parbhani, Hingoli and Ahmednagar, who recently purchased soybean seeds that failed to germinate.

The HC had said, “If the officers of the authority are not acting, farmers are at liberty to approach police, who can register the crime under section 420 (punishment for cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Seeds Act.”

It had also observed that “there is every possibility that officers are hand in glove with the traders and the companies producing such seeds and that is why the actions are not being taken.”

The bench had further noted that police and officers should not hesitate to take stern action against companies and vendors under the Seeds Act.

Earlier, on June 26, the high court had pulled up the Maharashtra government for not showing any inclination towards taking criminal action against vendors and producers of bogus seeds.

After hearing the pleas on Monday, the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Nariman granted permission to file SLP and noted, “There shall be stay of the impugned order in the meanwhile.” The SC will hear pleas in due course.