Is garlic a vegetable or a spice? The High Court has given its decision, you should also know

Is garlic a vegetable or a spice? The High Court has given its decision, you should also know

Garlic, which is known for its taste and aroma, is often considered as a spice in cooking due to its strong taste and various uses in different types of dishes. There was a debate going on for a long time whether garlic is a vegetable or a spice? Now the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has finally put an end to this debate going on for years and has declared garlic as a vegetable and allowed its sale in both vegetable and spice markets. The decision of the High Court is expected to benefit farmers and traders, as garlic was still known as a spice and now it will be considered a vegetable.

There was a controversy over garlic.

The controversy over garlic started in 2015 when a farmers' organization in Madhya Pradesh persuaded the Mandi Board to classify garlic as a vegetable. However, the Agriculture Department immediately reversed this decision and reclassified garlic as a spice under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act 1972. In response, the Potato, Onion and Garlic Commission Agents Association had approached the Indore bench in 2016 challenging the principal secretary's decision.

Controversy erupted, these arguments were given.

In February 2017, a single judge ruled in favour of the association, sparking a controversy among traders who argued that the decision benefited mainly commission agents rather than farmers. In July 2017, a petitioner, Mukesh Somani, filed a review petition, or which led to the recent verdict by the Indore bench of Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice D Venkataraman. The bench upheld the 2017 decision, restoring the previous system of garlic sales, which allows farmers to sell their produce directly in the market without paying any commission to the agents.

The court also said that although garlic is classified as a spice, it falls outside the jurisdiction of the state government when it comes to implementing the change. The court further said, "Therefore, no further decision can be taken at this time regarding its classification except that it will be retained as a vegetable.