New Delhi, Feb. 13: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan today lost his cool over “interested” and “pressure” groups using the Supreme Court to settle scores.

“Courts are being used by pressure groups through PILs,” Balakrishnan said. “These petitions are being instigated by economic groups to settle rivalries.”

He cited the Rs 4,500-crore insecticide industry that had been hit by the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The court was hearing a PIL challenging the permission for open-field trials of GMOs.

The CJI’s comment prompted the petitioners’ counsel, Prashant Bhushan, to stomp off. He asked the judges to pass an “ex-parte” order without hearing his arguments.

The court clarified that it was generally expressing concern over a recent trend and had not spoken about the GMO case in particular.

Bhushan resumed his arguments challenging the decision of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee to give the green signal to several GMO field trials.

Balancing the two “conflicting” interests - of paying attention to bio-safety and encouraging research - the court directed the government to clear applications for approval of field trials in a “transparent” manner.