New Delhi: Recognizing farmers’ right to non-violent protests, the Supreme Court suggested on Thursday that the Center suspend implementation of its new farm laws, pitching the idea of establishing an impartial and independent committee to end the stalemate. The Center said farmers will not show up for negotiations if implementation of farm laws is postponed.
The Center told the court that it was not possible to stop the implementation of the laws. While Attorney General Tushar Mehta said it couldn’t be done, Attorney General KK Venugopal said he would come up with the government’s response on the proposal.
Chief Justice, SA Bobde, asked Mr. Venugopal to ensure that the laws will not be implemented in the interim period “until we hear the matter.” However, the GA said this could stop the negotiations. To this, the CJI said that a statement in this regard from the Center could only allow discussions with Protestant farmers and resolve the confrontation.
Later, Mr. Venugopal asked for time to discuss it with government officials and to return during the holidays, when the CJI indicated that a bank will be established to hear the matter even during the winter holidays. Friday is the last business day for the court before its 15-day winter recess, which ends on January 3.
The Supreme Court also refused to order the eviction of the farmers from the borders of Delhi, where they camped for 22 days, without listening to them. The court said that farmers have the right to protest, but without inconvenience to other people.
The court said it would ask the Center if the form of protest could be slightly modified so that it does not affect citizens’ right of movement. “Farmers have the right to protest. We are not going to interfere with that, but we will study the way to protest … and we will modify it slightly so that it does not affect the right of movement of citizens, ”said the judges.
The farmers’ unions stood firm in their demand that the laws should be repealed first. Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesman Rakesh Tikait agreed with the court that the matter should be resolved soon and said the future course of action will be decided after discussions with the panchayat leaders. They pointed out that the protesters had not blocked the roads, it was the police who had erected the barricades.
The ongoing protests have already killed 22 farmers, including several women. Eight victims died due to accidents while returning home, 12 due to heart attacks, three due to the cold and a Sikh priest committed suicide in protest against agricultural laws.
The latest victim was a farmer from Punjab protesting near the Delhi-Haryana border who died Thursday morning, reportedly from the cold. The 38-year-old father of three children was found dead at a site where thousands of farmers have been protesting for 22 days.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal criticized the Center for the deaths of farmers, asking how many sacrifices they will have to make to have their voices heard, while breaking copies of the Center’s three agricultural laws at the Delhi Assembly, which passed a resolution seeking its revoke. “It hurts me to have to do this. It was not my intention, but I cannot betray the farmers of my country who have been sleeping on the streets in the cold when the temperature is only 2 degrees Celsius, ”Kejriwal said.
Union Minister Hardeep Puri said the government was willing to sit down with protesting farmers. He said: “It pains me that a lot of people sitting in protest probably don’t realize what they are protesting … The government is still sending a message to all farmers to please come and speak up.”
In the Supreme Court, as the attorney general insisted that the new farm laws could not be suspended, an irritated CJI said: “Don’t get ahead of yourself. AG says it will argue. We will not follow the law. But you can say that no action will be taken in the meantime. “
The Center, meanwhile, expressed doubts about the CJI’s option to establish a committee of neutral and independent people with experience in agriculture to listen to both farmers and the government to suggest a way forward. Mr. Mehta said that the talks between the government and the agitating farmers should take place in the presence of neutral and eminent people to ensure the reasonableness of the positions of both sides.
At one point, the CJI suggested the name of P. Sainath, a Magsaysay award-winning journalist who focuses on social inequalities, as a member of the proposed committee.
The petitioners indicated in court that the protesters blocked roads and closed border points, which affected vehicle traffic. This, they said, was causing difficulties for people, including Covid-19 patients, preventing them from accessing emergency medical services. The Center argued that the blockade on the Delhi borders will have to be lifted as “it affects the right of movement and the damage is enormous.”
Appearing before the Punjab government, the main advocate and leader of Congress, P. Chidambaram, said that farmers were not blocking the borders and only wanted to come to Delhi to protest within the limits of the law. The CJI said the court cannot predict which mafia may turn violent and that it was the job of the police. “We cannot endanger someone’s life or property,” he said. “This is not a mob, it is a large group of farmers,” protested Mr. Chidambaram. To this, the CJI said: “We are not calling them a mob.”
The protests, now in their third week, have seen thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab and Haryana, at the Delhi gate. The three-judge bench, which included judges AS Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian, said it would order the delivery of notices to protesting farmers’ unions and give them the freedom to approach the bench on vacation.
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