Background Seed shattering in rice (Oryza sativa) is considered as one of the major factors responsible for domestication of rice. The shattering trait of rice results in severe reduction in yield related parameters such as number of tillers and number of spikelets. A few genes have been characterized for their involvement in the regulation of seed shattering in rice, however, the importance of seed shattering from yield perspectives necessitates the exploration of novel genes responsible for seed shattering in field crops like rice. Results We identified the RICE HIGH SHATTERING 1 (RHS1) from a greenhouse screen involving 130 rice lines. High seed shattering phenomena was observed in rhs1 plants. Moreover, absence of RHS1 resulted in sensitivity to nitrosative stress. In addition, rhs1 plants demonstrated differential expression levels of genes responsible for nitric oxide (NO) production (OsNIA1, OsNIA2, OsNOA1 and OsGSNOR) and seed shattering (SHAT1, qSH1, qSH4 and CPL1). Of those, the CPL1 expression was correlated with S-nitrosothiol (SNO) alteration in rhs1. Interestingly noe1, rice mutant with high SNO levels, exhibited low seed shattering, whereas rhs1 resulted in low SNO level with high seed shattering. Conclusion This study reports the involvement of a novel gene RHS1 in seed shattering. Most of the seed shattering related genes or QTLs reported so far in the literature positively regulate seed shattering as their knockout or loss of function mutants exhibit non-shattering phenotypes. Whereas, RHS1 negatively regulates shattering as the loss of function rhs1 plants exhibit high seed shattering and perturbed SNO contents. The molecular and mechanistic control of RHS1 mediated regulation of seed shattering and its interaction with nitric oxide needs to be investigated further.