The Rajasthan High Court has ordered the Centre and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) not to permit the sale, manufacture, distribution or import of genetically modified (GM) food stuffs and edible items into the country.
A two-judge Bench of the court of acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Sanjiv Purohit, restrained the Centre and FSSAI from allowing GM foods and edible items until regulations under Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006, are framed.
The ruling could throw a spanner in Indo-US trade talks, particularly with Washington seeking Indian market access for its GM corn and soybeans.
Ruling on petitions filed by three individuals — Kritesh and Deepesh Oswal, and Abhay Singla — the judges directed the Centre and FSSAI to implement Section 22 of the Act of FSSA 2006 in “true letter and spirit”. It said standards and safety protocols regarding genetically modified and genetically engineered articles of food should be provided in a time-bound manner.
The petitioners said under Section 22 of the FSSA, the Centre and FSSAI had to come up with laws governing the manufacture, sale, import and distribution of genetically engineered foods. However, no such regulations have been notified to date.
“In the absence of such regulations, the legislative scheme envisaged under Section 22 has been rendered nugatory, thereby frustrating the very objectives of the said provision and leaving the statutory framework incomplete and unenforceable,” they said.
They asked the court what the appropriate course of action is until such regulations are formulated and notified to ensure the protection of public health and consumer interests.
The petitioners said they had filed the writ petition on concern over the sale, manufacture, distribution or import of genetically modified articles of food in India, in violation of Section 22 of the Act of 2006.
Sampling study
They said a “sampling” study by the Centre for Science and Environment concluded the presence of GM ingredients in food. Further, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee had permitted the import of edible oil derived from GM soybean and canola for consumption without any scientific research or impact assessment on humans.
The GEAC does not have the power to approve the sale, manufacture or import of the GM food in India, the petitioners argued
The Centre, through the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), said that though it had issued a notification on August 23, 2007, exempting the GM food rule from GEAC’s purview, it was issuing supplementary notifications from time to time to keep the notification in abeyance.
At its 134th meeting held on March 21, 2018, the GEAC decided that all the applications regarding the GM food will be forwarded to the FSSAI for its final approval, the Centre argued.
FSSAI said it objected to the Centre for Science and Environment study, and food business operators had denied the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) traces or ingredients in their food.
Stating that the welfare of the people is the Supreme Law, the High Court said the FSSAI and GEAC are restrained from granting any permission for the sale, manufacture, distribution or import of any GM food stuffs or edible items without regulations under Section 22 of the Act of 2006, being framed.
Published on October 17, 2025