The Supreme Court of India.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday set up a high-powered panel headed by Justice Nawab Singh, a former Punjab and Haryana High Court's judge, to have discussions with the farmers, holding a sit-in at Shambhu border since February 13 over their various demands including legal guarantee for minimum support price for their produce.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan asked the farmers to desist from politicising their agitation or make unreasonable demands, when they meet with the committee members. The bench said farmers will be at liberty to shift their peaceful agitations to alternative sites.
"We have tried to make a balanced composition, the farmers have genuine issues, should be dealt by a neutral body, nobody else should be allowed to unnecessarily rake up the issues. In a democratic set up everybody is allowed to raise their voice, let the committee look into the issues," the bench said.
The bench noted there is a sizeable population of agricultural communities in the two states that belong to marginalised communities and living below the poverty line, and they deserved empathy.
Among other members of the committee are P S Sandhu, IPS, former Director General of Police Haryana; Prof Devender Sharma, agriculture expert, and Dr Sukhpal Singh, agricultural economist from Punjab Agriculture University. Professor B R Kambhoj, Vice Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Agriculture University , Hisar has been nominated as special invitee.
The court directed the committee to convene its first meeting within a week. It also asked the committee to formulate issues in connection with the concerns of farmers over minimum support price and other issues.
The bench asked the committee to the reach out to the agitating farmers at the Shambhu Border to impress upon them to immediately remove their tractors, stands and other accessories from and near the national highway so as to enable the senior administrators of both the states to open the national highway.
On August 22, 2024, the Supreme Court had said it would soon constitute a multi-member committee to amicably settle the grievances of farmers "for all times to come".
On August 12, the Supreme Court directed the DGPs of Punjab, and Haryana to meet in a week along with the Superintendent of Police of adjoining districts for partial reopening of roads at Shambhu border near Ambala to facilitate the movement of ambulances, essential services and local commuters.
On August 2, the Supreme Court on had asked Haryana and Punjab governments to suggest possible names of neutral and eminent persons to be part of a committee to resolve the issue of farmers.
The Haryana government filed a plea in the Supreme Court against the July 10 order by the Punjab and Haryana high court order to remove within a week the barricading at the Shambhu border near Ambala.