Sanjay Kumar

1. The Writ Appeals on hand turn upon the maintainability of the writ petitions filed by Nuziveedu Seeds Pvt. Ltd., the appellant company. Two learned Judges of this Court separately held against the appellant company and dismissed its three writ petitions on the ground of territorial jurisdiction. The fate of Writ Petition No.27663 of 2010, subsequently filed by the appellant company, would depend upon our decision in the appeals.

2. These cases arise against the backdrop of The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (for brevity, ‘the Act’). This legislation was promulgated by the Parliament for protecting the intellectual property rights of plant breeders and farmers over plant varieties developed by them. The scheme of the Act provides for the authority constituted thereunder, viz., the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (hereinafter, ‘the competent authority’) to entertain and process applications from plant breeders, farmers or persons claiming through them for registration of the plant varieties over which rights are sought to be asserted. The Act and the Rules framed thereunder enunciate the detailed proce