In a recent Supreme Court judgement which was delivered by Justice BV Navaratnam, the Indian government was rebuked vehemently for risking the environment by approving the liberation of GM Mustard crops into the environment.
On Monday, in the recent split decision on the controversial matter, there was no sugar coating with Justice Navaratnam ‘Over the years, free speech has become overly protected’. They also condemned as a “gross violation of public trust” the authorities’ grudging approval of the plan.
In his argumentation the judge referred to the most important books of the cultures and philosophies of the world proclaiming the holiness and the inerasable sacredness of the nature and its parts. ‘Nature in all its forms has been deemed as holy,’ She stressed on the concerning ideas of cross generational management of the environment.
While delivering the judgment, Justice Agarthan could not stop herself from lambasting the genetic manipulation of mustard and its possible ill effects but on the same day the other woman judge of the court, Justice A Sanjay Karol sustained the grant of permission to release GM mustard.
This divergence of opinions is has now required that the matter be referred to a larger bench of the Supreme Court of India for its consideration.
The fundamental enshrinement of the citizen right to a safe environment insofar as he or she dares experiment with aspects of it was well and truly captured by Justice Navaratnam who seemed quite adamant about defending the ecological good of the people.
The judge overwhelmed by the GM mustard controversy reminder and environmental protection has brought controversy back into the concentrate for the national spotlight for what potentially might be a record-breaking court case regarding food security in the Indian subcontinent’s future.
