AHMEDABAD: Food and beverages large PepsiCo India on Friday withdrew the two lawsuits it had filed against nine Gujarat farmers for allegedly rising a variety of potato on which it claimed exclusive rights.
Anand Yagnik, the legal professional for the farmers, mentioned there used to be no pending litigation after those withdrawals.
A week previous, PepsiCo had withdrawn its case at Deesa business court against two farmers hailing from Banaskantha district within the state.
Now, the two last circumstances against nine farmers, comprising 4 of Sabarkantha and five from Arvalli, had been withdrawn through the MNC, Yagnik mentioned at a press convention here.
In all, 11 farmers of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Arvalli districts were sued through PepsiCo in three different courts in Gujarat for alleged infringement of rights over the precise number of potato.
The multinational large had sought damages starting from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from those farmers.
While 4 farmers of Sabarkantha were sued in a business court in Ahmedabad, five farmers of Arvalli were sued in Modasa Commercial Court of that district.
"Advocates appearing for PepsiCo on Friday informed both the courts today that the company wants to withdraw the cases unconditionally. PepsiCo's pleas have been approved by both the courts today. With this, all the three suits against farmers stand withdrawn and no case is pending now," Yagnik mentioned.
The US-based company had filed the suits against potato farmers for allegedly rising FC-5 number of potato for which the company had claimed to have obtained plant variety coverage (PVP) rights.
However, activists had claimed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority Act, 2011 exempts farmers from PVP rights.
In its commentary after the withdrawal of circumstances Friday, PepsiCo mentioned it used to be "compelled to take the judicial recourse" to give protection to its registered variety to be able to "safeguard the larger interest of farmers".
"PepsiCo India's submission in the court today is in sync with its publicly stated position... To safeguard the larger interest of farmers, PepsiCo India was compelled to take judicial recourse to protect its registered variety," it mentioned.
"PepsiCo from the very start had also offered an amicable settlement to farmers. After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection" the commentary added.
Though all three circumstances had been withdrawn through the MNC, Yagnik mentioned farmers who were sued through PepsiCo now need an apology from the company for the harassment and bringing disrepute to them.
"Farmers want an apology from PepsiCo. If the company does not tender an apology, we will send it a legal notice and will file a legal suit against the firm demanding a token compensation of Rs 1," Yagnik mentioned.
Anand Yagnik, the legal professional for the farmers, mentioned there used to be no pending litigation after those withdrawals.
A week previous, PepsiCo had withdrawn its case at Deesa business court against two farmers hailing from Banaskantha district within the state.
Now, the two last circumstances against nine farmers, comprising 4 of Sabarkantha and five from Arvalli, had been withdrawn through the MNC, Yagnik mentioned at a press convention here.
In all, 11 farmers of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Arvalli districts were sued through PepsiCo in three different courts in Gujarat for alleged infringement of rights over the precise number of potato.
The multinational large had sought damages starting from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from those farmers.
While 4 farmers of Sabarkantha were sued in a business court in Ahmedabad, five farmers of Arvalli were sued in Modasa Commercial Court of that district.
"Advocates appearing for PepsiCo on Friday informed both the courts today that the company wants to withdraw the cases unconditionally. PepsiCo's pleas have been approved by both the courts today. With this, all the three suits against farmers stand withdrawn and no case is pending now," Yagnik mentioned.
The US-based company had filed the suits against potato farmers for allegedly rising FC-5 number of potato for which the company had claimed to have obtained plant variety coverage (PVP) rights.
However, activists had claimed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority Act, 2011 exempts farmers from PVP rights.
In its commentary after the withdrawal of circumstances Friday, PepsiCo mentioned it used to be "compelled to take the judicial recourse" to give protection to its registered variety to be able to "safeguard the larger interest of farmers".
"PepsiCo India's submission in the court today is in sync with its publicly stated position... To safeguard the larger interest of farmers, PepsiCo India was compelled to take judicial recourse to protect its registered variety," it mentioned.
"PepsiCo from the very start had also offered an amicable settlement to farmers. After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers. We are relying on the said discussions to find a long term and an amicable resolution of all issues around seed protection" the commentary added.
Though all three circumstances had been withdrawn through the MNC, Yagnik mentioned farmers who were sued through PepsiCo now need an apology from the company for the harassment and bringing disrepute to them.
"Farmers want an apology from PepsiCo. If the company does not tender an apology, we will send it a legal notice and will file a legal suit against the firm demanding a token compensation of Rs 1," Yagnik mentioned.
PepsiCo withdraws all cases against Guj farmers
![PepsiCo withdraws all cases against Guj farmers]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
May 10, 2019
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