<p>In a recent ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ended the long-standing debate of whether garlic is considered as a spice or a vegetable and said that it can be sold both in vegetable and spice markets.</p><p>Although garlic is used as a spice for its strong flavours, it will continue to be classified as a vegetable, <em>India Today</em> <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/law/story/garlic-spice-or-vegetable-madhya-pradesh-high-court-indore-farmers-2581728-2024-08-13#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17236341046138&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com">reported </a>citing the verdict.</p><p>This verdict will enable the sale of garlic by farmers directly in the market with no commission being paid to agents.</p><p>The entire controversy of garlic being a spice or a vegetable started way back in the year 2015, when MP’s farmer organisation persuaded the Mandi Board to categorise garlic as a vegetable. This decision was then reversed by the Agriculture Department under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act of 1972 and reclassified garlic as a spice.</p><p>Challenging the Principal Secretary's decision, the Potato, Onion, and Garlic Commission Agent Association approached the Indore bench in 2016. In 2017, a single judge ruled in favour of the association and allowed the sale of garlic as a vegetable. This further sparked a debate among the traders who said that the decision benefited the commission agents rather than farmers.</p><p>Mukesh Somani, a petitioner filed a review petition in 2017, which led to the recent verdict by the Indore bench of Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice D Venkataraman.</p><p>The two judge bench upheld the 2017 ruling stating that garlic is perishable and, hence, a vegetable, thereby restoring the previous system of garlic sales.</p><p>Garlic, though classified as a spice, falls outside the state government's jurisdiction when it comes to imposing changes, the court stated, adding that no further decisions can be made regarding its classification at this time.</p>
<p>In a recent ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court ended the long-standing debate of whether garlic is considered as a spice or a vegetable and said that it can be sold both in vegetable and spice markets.</p><p>Although garlic is used as a spice for its strong flavours, it will continue to be classified as a vegetable, <em>India Today</em> <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/law/story/garlic-spice-or-vegetable-madhya-pradesh-high-court-indore-farmers-2581728-2024-08-13#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17236341046138&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com">reported </a>citing the verdict.</p><p>This verdict will enable the sale of garlic by farmers directly in the market with no commission being paid to agents.</p><p>The entire controversy of garlic being a spice or a vegetable started way back in the year 2015, when MP’s farmer organisation persuaded the Mandi Board to categorise garlic as a vegetable. This decision was then reversed by the Agriculture Department under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act of 1972 and reclassified garlic as a spice.</p><p>Challenging the Principal Secretary's decision, the Potato, Onion, and Garlic Commission Agent Association approached the Indore bench in 2016. In 2017, a single judge ruled in favour of the association and allowed the sale of garlic as a vegetable. This further sparked a debate among the traders who said that the decision benefited the commission agents rather than farmers.</p><p>Mukesh Somani, a petitioner filed a review petition in 2017, which led to the recent verdict by the Indore bench of Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice D Venkataraman.</p><p>The two judge bench upheld the 2017 ruling stating that garlic is perishable and, hence, a vegetable, thereby restoring the previous system of garlic sales.</p><p>Garlic, though classified as a spice, falls outside the state government's jurisdiction when it comes to imposing changes, the court stated, adding that no further decisions can be made regarding its classification at this time.</p>