MAHARASHTRA HYBRID SEED CO. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners impugn a common order dated 24.05.2012 (hereafter the 'impugned order') passed by the Registrar, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority holding that parent lines of known hybrid varieties, could not be registered as "new" plant varieties under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 (hereafter the 'Act'). It was held that if the hybrid falls under the category of extant variety about which there is common knowledge then its parental lines cannot be treated as novel.

(2.) The principal question to be decided is whether the parent lines of extant hybrid varieties can be considered as novel plant varieties for the purposes of registration under the Act.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioners contended that the hybrid seeds, obtained from crossing the parental lines, are distinct in traits and characteristics from the parent lines and cannot be considered as propagating or harvested material of the parental line varieties. It was contended that the propagating/harvested material of a variety would mean any part of a plant or seed, which is capable of regeneration into a plant having same characteristics as the original plant. Since regeneration of hybrid seed would not result in the parental lines but the hybrid plant variety that is distinct from the parent line varieties, the hybrid seeds obtained from crossing of parent lines could not be said to be propagating or harvested material of the parental lines.