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Garlic is a special ingredient that enhances the taste and flavour of food. We use it in vegetables, pulses etc. But have you ever wondered whether garlic is called a vegetable or a spice? To get the answer to this question, the matter has reached the court for the last 9 years. Then the Indore Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court gave an important decision in this matter.
This decision was given in 2015
The Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board had included garlic in the category of vegetables in 2015 on the request of a farmers' association. However, soon after, the agriculture department revoked that order and put it in the category of spices, citing the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act (1972). Now the Madhya Pradesh High Court has again placed garlic in the category of vegetables. A division bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice D Venkataraman upheld the 2017 order, saying that garlic is perishable and is therefore a vegetable.
In which category can garlic be sold?
The court also said in its decision that garlic can be sold in both vegetable and spice markets. This will remove the ban on trade and benefit both farmers and sellers. This decision of the court will also affect thousands of commission agents in Madhya Pradesh.
The case was pending for 9 years
The special thing is that this case was pending in the High Court for years. First, the Potato-Onion-Garlic Commission Agent Association knocked the door of the Indore Bench in 2016 against the order of the Chief Secretary. After this, in February 2017, a single judge ruled in their favor. But this decision created an atmosphere of fear among the traders. They argued that this decision would benefit the commission agents and not the farmers.
This demand arose again in March
After the court's decision, petitioner Mukesh Somani filed a review petition in July 2017. The petition went to the double judge bench of the High Court. The bench sent garlic back to the spice category in January 2024. While giving the verdict, the High Court said that the earlier decision would benefit only traders, not farmers. After this, garlic traders and commission agents sought a review of that order in March this year. The matter came before a bench of Justice Dharmadhikari and Venkataraman.
