NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 13, 2007: On September 22, 2006, the Indian Supreme Court imposed a ban on new field trials of GMO crops, allowing only on going and earlier approved trials to continue. The GMO industry appealed and lost a recent appeal, which requested the court remove the ban and allow new field trials to proceed. The court, in its order, said, “The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) shall take sufficient precautions to see that these (ongoing and already approved) trials are not causing any contamination to the cultivation in the neighboring fields.” In order to ensure responsibility in case of any mishap, the court said, “In all trials that are being conducted, the name of the scientist and other details of who will be responsible for all aspects of the trials should be reported to GEAC and there should be regular supervision by them.” The court, tightening the leash on the government, has also ordered that the government release data on any tests of toxicity and allergenicity that may have been conducted on the four species of Bt Cotton already approved by the government. The precedent setting order has delighted the environmental groups as they have requested this data to be made public.
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