Sept 21, Colombo: The Supreme Court Wednesday, granted time to the Attorney General to file limited objections related to the fundamental rights petition filed seeking to annul the government’s decision to remove the ban imposed on glyphosate herbicides.

When the petition was called today before the three-judge panel comprising judges Murdu Fernando, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe and Gamini Amarasekera, the government lawyer who appeared on behalf of the respondents asked the court to give a date for presenting the limited objections related to the petition.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court gave time till October 12 to submit limited objections and ordered to recall the petition on that day.

The court has also ordered the petitioner to re-issue notices to the Consumer Affairs Authority and the Central Environment Authority.

The petition against lifting of the glyphosate ban has been filed by the Environmental Justice Center and a group including its senior counsel Hemantha Withanage.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe as Finance Minister, Registrar of Pesticides, Agriculture Minister, Health Minister, Director General of Health Services, Central Environment Authority, Consumer Affairs Authority and Attorney General have been named as respondents.

The petitioners in their petition say the orders issued in 2017 banning the herbicide glyphosate have been removed and a gazette notification has been issued allowing its use. The petition claims that the use of glyphosate is causing severe damage to water sources.

The petition claims that the soil and plants will also be greatly damaged and the human health is also severely harmed through the use of the herbicide, and furthermore, the fish and birds are also harmed through the use of those herbicides.

Due to this, the petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to rule that the basic human rights of the public are being violated by lifting the ban on glyphosate and to issue an order invalidating the order to lift the ban.