Pepsico to Withdraw Lawsuit Against Four Gujarat Potato Farmers

After discussions with the govt, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers, Pepsico said.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Altered by Arnica Kala / The Quint)

PepsiCo Inc on Thursday, 2 May, said it will withdraw its lawsuit against four Gujarat potato farmers accused of infringing its patent.

"After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw the cases against the farmers," a PepsiCo India spokesperson said.

PepsiCo in April sued four farmers for cultivating a potato variety grown exclusively for its popular Lay's potato chips. The American MNC has claimed the potato variety in question has been "registered" by it.

All nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights and sought damages of as much as Rs 1 crore from each of them.

PepsiCo last week had offered to settle lawsuits against the farmers, but only if they gave an undertaking to purchase this specific variety of seeds from the company and sell the potato to it.

Farmers’ Organisation Demand More Assurances from PepsiCo

The Gujarat government was also working for an out-of-court settlement of cases filed by PepsiCo against nine state farmers, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had said on Wednesday, 1 May.

“The government is trying to ensure that the issue is resolved outside the court properly and as per the law, in a manner that it is helpful to farmers. The agriculture secretary and chief secretary have been informed regarding the same.”

Nitin Patel, Dy CM Gujarat

Meanwhile, the farmers’s organisation that led the fight for the potato farmers of North Gujarat were over the moon with PepsiCo’s decision. Rabari, president of the Gujarat Khedut Samaj (Gujarat Farmers’ Society) spoke to The Quint and said:

“I just heard from you that the case has been withdrawn by PepsiCo. This is great news for the farmers. We had made three demands with the government, one of which was an unconditional withdrawal of the case. Now that the case has been withdrawn, the other two demands need to be addressed as well.

“The farmers claim that they were unnecessarily harassed by PepsiCo and have demanded compensation for the legal expenses borne by them. Apart from that, the company needs to issue a guarantee that they will not conduct any sting operations on any potato farms in the state. If they wish to conduct an inspection on a farm they should be accompanied by the District Agricultural Officer.”

Sagar Rabari, Gujarat Khedut Samaj

PepsiCo yet to Approach the Court With Its Decision to Withdraw the Case

Rabari further said that the core group of the farmers’ organisation will meet tomorrow, 3 May to outline their plan of action.

However, Advocate Anand Yagnik told The Quint, that the MNC has not approached the Gujarat High Court with their decision to withdraw the case.

“The Pepsico has taken a policy decision to withdraw the cases against the farmers. However, that policy decision has not been put forth before the Hon’ble Court seized of the matter and neither has it been conveyed by the counsel for the Pepsico to the lawyer of farmers or to the farmers.”

Advocate Anand Yagnik, Representing the Potato Farmers

Farmer rights activists have claimed the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right (PPVFR) Act, 2001, which has been invoked by PepsiCo in its lawsuits against the farmers, has a section that protects agriculturists in such cases.

Farmers can “save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 in the same manner as he was entitled before the coming into force of this Act provided farmer shall not be entitled to sell branded seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001,” the Act says.

Over 190 activists had recently come out in support of the farmers facing lawsuits and requested the Union government to ask PepsiCo India to withdraw its "false" cases against them.

(With Inputs from PTI)