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6. The ICAR, IARI has developed the technology of PUSA-STFR Meter for all soil testings (PUSA is the lab and STFR means Soil Testing and Fertilizers Recommendation). The Soil Health Card (SHC) is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings. It will contain the status of his soil with respect to 12 parameters as under :

pil115.17 & wp5845.18.odt

9. It is the stand taken by the respondent Nos.2 and 3- ICAR and IARI in the affidavit dated 27-12-2018 filed in Writ Petition that Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals entered into MoU with ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science (IISS), Bhopal, on 27-7-2014 and 7-8-2014 for improvement of STFR Meter. According to the respondent Nos.2 and 3, this is violation of non-disclosure of technology know-how by Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals. One principal scientist of IARI, Dr. S.C. Datta, the Inventor of STFR, informed the officer in-charge, ZTN & BPD, IARI, on 19-3-2015 that Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals has made "Mridaparikshak" on its own by replicating the idea/concept of STFR Meter. It further states that the concept of STFR Meter is that it is a programmable digital colorimeter with menu based interactive program, dedicated to estimation of soil available nutrients and it is the first of its kind in India. The concept is patent protected and cannot be copied. It further states that "Mridaparikshak" does not display the soil testing technology developed and licensed by ICAR-IARI, but displays the soil testing technology in collaboration with Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal.

pil115.17 & wp5845.18.odt (1) Whether the respondent Nos.2 and 3 - ICAR and IARI, have themselves at any point of time up to 2-4-2018, represented to anyone that STFR Meter has capacity to test the soil in respect of 12 parameters, including Copper and Nitrogen?, (2) Whether there was any representation by any of the licensees of ICAR and IARI up to 2-4-2018 that the STFR Meter has capacity to test the soil in respect of 12 parameters, including Copper and Nitrogen?, (3) Whether any such representation, either by the respondent Nos.2 and 3 or by any of their licensees, has misled or cheated the farmers or agriculturists and caused damage to the soil and should there be any enquiry in respect of it?, (4) If the answers of any of the questions above are in the affirmative, whether the licences issued for testing of STFR Meter are required to be cancelled, as is claimed?, and (5) Should the claim of the petitioners in both these petitions and of the intervenor to ask for the stoppage of commercialization of STFR Meter without its validation in respect of 12 parameters of soil testing in at least five different agro-climatic zones be entertained?

54. Our research work on the aforestated two aspects reveals that the petitioner- Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals has been instrumental in misleading and misrepresenting various Government departments for commercial profiteering and gain without having any genuine and bona fide interest in raising such issues. For this purpose, the sequence of significant events has to be noticed. The STFR Meter technology was initially having capacity of soil testing in respect of 5 parameters and it was licensed to Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals under the MoU dated 2-8-2014. It was subsequently upgraded to 10 parameters on 12-8-2015. The petitioner- Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals entered into first MoU on 17-9-2015 with IISS, Bhopal, in respect of "Mridaparikshak", having capacity of soil testing with 10 parameters. The first complaint was made by Nagarjuna Agro Chemicals on 17-3-2016 to ICAR-IARI for providing 10 parameters of STFR Meter and accordingly it was made available to it under another MoU dated 25-5-2016. On 18-5-2016, the ITMC of ICAR decided to introduce the parameter of Copper in the STFR Meter, in pil115.17 & wp5845.18.odt its meeting dated 18-5-2016. On 18-7-2016, the additional three parameters were added in "Mridaparikshak". Thus, "Mridaparikshak" was having capacity of testing of soil in respect of 13 parameters.