Ahmedabad, May 10: Multinational food, snack, and beverage giant PepsiCo India on Friday withdrew the remaining lawsuits it had filed against the nine Gujarat farmers for allegedly farming of a potato which the beverage major claimed to have its exclusive rights. Farmers, however, said that the final decision should be taken by the court which needs to enhance to protect their rights. PepsiCo Pitches For Out-of-Court Settlement with Gujarat Potato Farmers.

Anand Yagnik, the farmers' layers, said that there are no cases pending after this withdrawal. Earlier, PepsiCo had got a hearing in an Ahmedabad Court again four potato farmers and five farmers in a district court in Northern Gujarat. However, today, the food and beverage giant announced that it has withdrawn all the cases. PepsiCo Is Suing Four Farmers In India For Growing Potatoes It Uses In Lays Chips.

"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 With this, all the three suits against farmers stand withdrawn and no case is pending now," Yagnik said.

The United States-based firm had filed the case against potato farmers for purportedly growing FC-5 variety of potato for which the company had claimed to have obtained Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights. Activists, however, had claimed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority Act (PVPRAA), 2011 exempts farmers from PVP rights.

"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," said PepsiCo in a statement.

"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 statement added.

Meanwhile, all the suits are withdrawn, Yagnik said the farmers are demanding an apology by the multinational company. "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 said.

(With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2019 10:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).