Garlic is considered a special ingredient in the kitchen. It is definitely used in making spicy vegetables. But what exactly is garlic? Is it a vegetable or a spice? This question is also in discussion because the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has given an important decision regarding it.
In fact, on the request of an organization of farmers, the Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board had included garlic in the category of vegetables in 2015. However, soon after this, the Agriculture Department canceled that order and citing the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act (1972), put it in the category of spices.
The 2017 order was upheld
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Now the Madhya Pradesh High Court has again put garlic in the category of vegetables. The division bench of Justices SA Dharmadhikari and D Venkataraman upheld the 2017 order which said that garlic is perishable and hence it is a vegetable.
Farmers can sell in both markets
The court also said in its decision that garlic can be sold in both vegetable and spice markets. This will end the restrictions on trade and will benefit both farmers and sellers. This decision of the court will also affect thousands of commission agents in Madhya Pradesh.
The case was pending in the court for years
Let us tell you that this case was pending in the High Court for many years. First of all, the Potato-Onion-Garlic Commission Agent Association had reached the Indore Bench in 2016 against the order of the Principal Secretary. After this, in February 2017, a single judge gave a verdict in their favor. But this decision created panic among the traders. They argued that this decision would benefit the commission agents and not the farmers.
Double judge bench heard the case
After the court’s decision, petitioner Mukesh Somani filed a review petition in July 2017. This petition went to the double judge bench of the High Court. This bench sent garlic back to the spice shelf in January 2024. While giving the verdict, the High Court said that the previous decision would only benefit traders, not farmers. After this, garlic traders and commission agents had demanded a review of that order in March this year. This matter came before the bench of Justice Dharmadhikari and Venkataraman.
Permission to change the rules
In its order on July 23, the Indore double bench upheld the February 2017 order. In this decision, the Managing Director of the Mandi Board was allowed to make changes in the Mandi rules. The same was done in 2015 as well. The order said that the market is established in the interest of farmers and traders so that they can get a better price for their produce, therefore, whatever by-laws are made or amended, they will be considered in the interest of the farmers.
What did the court say in the order?
The order said, ‘The farmers had said that garlic should be allowed to be sold as (vegetable) through agents, while the state government has recommended selling it as a spice.’ On this, Chandrashekhar, Joint Director of Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board, said that the court order will allow commission agents to bid for garlic in vegetable markets.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)