Farmers protest against the farm laws at Singhu border in New Delhi (Express file Photo: Praveen Khanna)The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a stay of the implementation of the contentious three new farm laws hoping this will end the prolonged protests by the farmers and also constituted a four-member panel of agri experts to resolve the impasse between their leaders and the Centre. A three-judge bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said that as a consequence of the stay till further orders, the MSP system in existence before the enactment of the farm laws shall be maintained.
But in their response to what the apex court called an “extraordinary” order of stay, the farmer unions made it clear they will not call off the protests until the three laws enacted in September are repealed. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, are protesting at Delhi borders since November 28 last, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system for their crops.
The leaders of the unions also claimed the members of the court-appointed committee tasked to listen to their grievances are “pro-government”, and asserted they will not appear before it. However, the Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary sought to allay their apprehensions, saying the panel was “impartial” and it will take the opinion of all farmers and experts across the country. Choudhary told PTI in an interview the stay order is against the Centre’s wish but the court direction is ‘sarva-manya’ (acceptable to all). Leaders of the farmer unions and several opposition leaders including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, a former union agriculture minister, welcomed the stay order.
The central government Tuesday, during the hearing on pleas challenging the constitutional validity of farm laws, in Supreme Court claimed that ‘Khalistanis’ have infiltrated the ongoing farmers’ protest on Delhi borders. The claim made by Attorney General K K Venugopal came in response when the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde enquired about the charges by one of the parties that a banned outfit, ‘Sikhs for Justice’, was aiding the protests.
Farmers celebrate after the SC hearing, at the Ghazipur border Monday. (Express Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to stay the implementation of three farm laws and set up a four-member panel to resolve the impasse between the government and farmer unions over the legislations. He said the move was a big relief for farmers and hoped that a concrete dialogue between the central government and farmers will be initiated now.
Farmers have been protesting at various border points of Delhi for more than a month now, demanding a repeal of the three laws.
"A welcome decision taken by the Apex Court of India to put on hold the implementation of three farm bills and set up a four-member committee to resolve the issues.
"It is a big relief for farmers' and I hope that a concrete dialogue between the Central government and farmers' will be initiated now, keeping the farmers' interests and well-being in mind," Pawar said in a tweet.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the backdrop of the ongoing protests by farmers against the new agri laws. "Haryana is epicenter of farmers agitation so we discussed the law and security of the state. After SC stayed the implementation of farm laws we hope that farmers will end their agitation. We also discussed about holding celebrations for January 26 without any trouble," said Khattar after the meeting.
The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to hear the Centre's application seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor or trolley march or any other kind of protest which seeks to disrupt the gathering and celebrations of the Republic Day on January 26.
The Centre, in an application filed through Delhi Police, has said that any proposed march or protest which seeks to disrupt and disturb the Republic Day celebrations will cause an "embarrassment to the nation". It said the right to protest can never include "maligning the nation globally" and requested the top court to restrain anyone from conducting any protest march either in the form of tractor march, trolley march, vehicle march or any other mode by entering into the National Capital Region Territory of Delhi. (PTI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the farmers protesting at Delhi's borders should end their agitation now following the formation of a committee by the Supreme Court over the new farm laws. "The ball is now in the court of the SC and I feel whatever is its decision, it will be acceptable to all," he said, welcoming the SC order.
The Supreme Court stayed till further orders the implementation the three central agri-marketing laws over which farmers from Punjab and Haryana have been protesting for weeks. The court also announced the formation of a four-member committee to resolve the deadlock over the new laws between the Centre and farmers' unions.
On the farmer unions' refusal to call off their protest after the SC order, Khattar said there was no reason now for them to continue with it. He said the farmers should lift their 'dharna' at Delhi's border and head back to the places they had come from.
Addressing a press conference, Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party welcomes the Supreme Court's concern over the farm laws, but the party has issues with the composition of the committee formed by it. He said the members of the committee have already expressed their views in the past favouring the new laws "so the question arises in our minds that how justice will be done to farmers by their hands"."All the members of the committee constituted by the Supreme Court have already supported the agricultural bill," Congress party's Madhya Pradesh unit tweeted while tagging newspaper articles written by Gulati and Joshi and also news reports quoting Ghanwat and Mann speaking against the repeal of the laws.
Agitating farmer unions Tuesday disapproved of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court to break the deadlock over the acts and said they will continue their protest against the three legislations. Addressing a press conference at Singhu Border here, Union leaders claimed the members of the committee are "pro-government", and asserted they will not appear before it.
The Supreme Court earlier in the day stayed the implementation of the controversial farm laws till further orders and set up a four-member committee to resolve the impasse between the Centre and the farmer unions protesting at Delhi's borders over the legislations.
"The members of the SC-appointed committee are not dependable as they have been writing on how agri laws are pro-farmer. We will continue our agitation," farmer leader Balbeer Singh Rajewal told the presser.
The farmer leader said that unions never demanded the apex court form a committee to resolve the impasse over the laws, alleging the Central government is behind these developments. (PTI)
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in the backdrop of the ongoing protests by farmers against the new agri laws, officials said. The meeting came on a day the Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three farm laws till further orders and set up a committee to end the impasse between the Centre and farmer unions protesting at Delhi borders.
Shetkari Sanghatana chief Anil Ghanwat, a member of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court to hold talks with agitating farmers, said on Tuesday that the new farm laws partially implement what his outfit has been demanding for decades. His attempt will be to improve them, he said, while coming out in support of reforms including permission for contract farming. "We are not lauding the Centre's three acts that are described as giving freedom to farmers. It was the Shetkari Sanghatana headed by late Sharad Joshi which had pressed for these changes first," Ghanwat, whose organization has been accused of backing the Centre on the issue despite representing farmers, said. (PTI)
The Supreme Court has granted the Committee constituted by it two months time from the date of first sitting to submit report containing recommendations. The first sitting will be held within ten days from today.
With the farmers' agitation continuing for over six weeks, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Birender Singh on Tuesday said the party's government in Haryana and its leadership in Punjab didn't handle the issue properly and let the central brass down.
However, Singh, who was Union Minister in the NDA government from 2014-19, said the intent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government behind these farm bills was overall welfare of farmers.
"The intent of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government behind these three farm laws was to improve the quality of life of farmers and their overall welfare," Singh told PTI.
Sounding critical of his party's own government in Haryana and its leadership in Punjab, Singh said the issue would have been resolved much earlier had the they addressed the farmers' apprehensions effectively in initial days of the protest.
The Centre should repeal the three farm laws or it will cost the ruling BJP-JJP alliance in Haryana "heavily", a section of JJP MLAs said on Tuesday, hours before their party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala meets Union Home Minister Amit Shah here.
Chautala and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar are scheduled to meet Shah in the national capital, and they will be accompanied by BJP state president O P Dhankar. The BJP, which won 40 seats in the 90-member Haryana assembly in the 2019 polls, formed government with the support of 10 Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) MLAs and several Independents. The Centre should rollback these laws as farmers of Haryana, Punjab and the country are up in arms against the legislations, JJP MLA Jogi Ram Sihag told PTI. "We will request Dushyant ji to convey our feelings to Amit Shah ji," he said.
The All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) in a press statement said, 'Farmers have explained in detail to GOI that 3 laws will lead to corporate control over agri processing, markets. Will lead to high cost of inputs, higher debts on peasants, lower the crop prices, increase farmer losses, decrease govt procurement, end PDS, raise food costs, higher farmer and agri worker suicides, hunger deaths, eviction from land due to debts. Govt has hidden these hard facts from people and courts.'
It added that the Kisan Parade announced by farmers organisations on Republic Day will be held at Delhi and all over the country in large numbers. 'Farmers will observe Republic day. The government is trying to misguide the Court on this too. The farmers' struggle on their key demands will continue as per the earlier announcement on 13th 18th and 23rd January. Farmers wish to interact with the Govt, not engage with the Supreme Court, where farmers did not present ourselves. So no comment on it, no offence to it,' the statement further said.
The Supreme Court Tuesday suspended the implementation of the three farm laws until further notice, and set up a committee comprising experts to hear the parties and understand the ground situation. When told the farmer unions were not willing to appear before the committee, the bench said those “genuinely” interested in finding a solution would do so. The farmer unions reiterated that they will not participate in any court-ordered committee process. “It is clear that the Court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the 3 Acts and have actively advocated for the same,” a statement issued by All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee said.
The Supreme Court staying implementation of the three controversial new farm laws enacted by the Centre is a welcome and positive step in the right direction to get justice for farmers, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said on Tuesday. The apex court has stayed the implementation of the new farm laws till further orders and decided to set up a committee to resolve the impasse over them between the Centre and farmers' unions protesting at Delhi borders. "Hon'ble Supreme Court's stay on implementation of #FarmLaws is a welcome & positive step in the right direction to get Justice for our farmers. "Central Government must now stop their rigid ways of functioning, accept their mistake and rectify it," Maharashtra minister and NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik tweeted.
The four-member committee set up by the Supreme Court comprises Bhupinder Singh Mann of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Anil Ghanwat of Shetkari Sanghatana, Dr Pramod Kumar Joshi and agricultural economist Ashok Gulati.
The Supreme Court has suspended the implementation of three farm laws, and set up a committee to hold talks between farmer unions and the central government to resolve the impasse.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to file an affidavit by tomorrow on whether a banned organisation, 'Sikhs for Justice', has infiltrated the farmers' protests. The SC order came after P S Narasimha, who represents a petitioner supporting the farm laws, submitted the same. The Attorney General has said he will file an affidavit with Intelligence Bureau records.
A day after the SC told farmer unions to send home the elderly and women, AP Singh, representing farmers union BHU (Bhanu), says the message has been passed on to his clients and they have agreed to go back, reports Live Law. The CJI tells Singh his statement will be recorded.
The apex court Monday had requested that the elderly and women who were protesting at Delhi's borders return home due to the cold and Covid-19.
During the hearing on the farm laws, the Supreme Court seems firm on constituting a committee to hear both sides -- the farmer unions and central government. It says the committee will decide which parts of the law need to be deleted, and which will remain.
The Supreme Court says it will pass an interim order that farmers land can't be sold for contract farming, and adds that suspending the farm law can't be for an empty purpose.
Chief Justice S A Bobde says the committee will be constituted so that the Court can understand the "ground situation". "We are forming the Committee so that we have a clearer picture. We want to solve the problem. We want to know the ground situation. That is why we are forming the committee," he says, reported Live Law.
Advocate M L Sharma, who is among the petitioners challenging the farm laws, tells the Supreme Court the farmers are unwilling to appear before a committee. According to Live Law, the CJI tells Sharma the Court is concerned about protecting the life and property of citizens affected by the farmers' protests. "We are trying to solve the problem in accordance with the powers we have," the CJI is quoted as saying by Live Law.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, is now hearing a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the three farm laws, enacted last September. The bench is likely to pronounce its order in the case today.
Ajay Vir Jakhar, chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, writes: "Today, the perception is that farmers are on one side of the trenches and the government on the other. In every negotiation, both sides must have a face saver for the victory to have a lasting and positive impact. In the present circumstances, it’s absolutely essential to provide a way for the farmers to return home with dignity. Before the storm begins to take a turn for the worse or begins to ebb, it is time also for the farmers to reassess and seek positive concessions, because at the end of the agitation, no one would want a status quo ante, that is inevitable otherwise." Read his opinion column here
While we wait, read Kamaldeep Singh Brar's report on how modified trollies, which once started as a convenient travel-and camp mode of transport for religious festivals in Punjab, have been the backbone of farmers' protest in Delhi. These "travelling homes" not long ago invited criticism for Punjabi youth who would spend a fortune on turning them into luxury contraptions tagging behind tractors. But the farm protest has turned this fad or an expensive hobby for some into a symbol of fight for ones rights.
The Supreme Court bench will assembly any minute now and pronounce its verdict on the farmers' protests. The bench is headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, and comprises Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian. Stay tuned!
Haryana Police Monday booked BKU president Gurnam Singh Chaduni and 70 others for “creating disturbance in the kisan panchayat” of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at Kaimla village of Karnal district Sunday. Police say the accused have been booked for “entering into the event venue with sticks, damaging the government property, conspiracy, assault on the government employees and instigating the people”.
After the event was cancelled, Khattar had accused Chaduni for instigating the farmers “to create ruckus in the kisan panchayat”. Read Sukhbir Siwach's report
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi Tuesday to discuss the political scenario in the state. Prior to the meeting, Dushyant will speak to JJP MLAs at his farmhouse in the national capital. Protesting farmers had ransacked the venue of Khattar's "kisan mahapanchayat" at a Karnal village on Sunday.
Sources said the BJP-JJP leaders will brief the Union Home Minister about the recent developments. Apart from Khattar and Dushyant, state BJP president Om Prakash Dhankar, state Education Minister Kanwar Pal Gujjar and JJP state president Nishan Singh will be part of the delegation, a senior BJP leader confirmed.
The exercise is seen as an attempt to keep the flock of MLAs in the alliance together amid increasing pressure over them with the farmers’ agitation dominating the political landscape in Haryana for the past one-and-a-half month, write Varinder Bhatia and Sukhbir Siwach.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has begun talking to Opposition leaders and is planning to convene a meeting to formulate a joint Opposition strategy on the farmers' protests. Her initiative came on a day NCP chief Sharad Pawar met Left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja. The Left leaders said they discussed the issue of farmer protests. Read more here
How the Supreme Court operationalises its suggestion to stay the operation of the three farm laws and open fresh talks via a committee will be evident in its order Tuesday. However, a line of precedents shows that courts have been very cautious while passing interim orders to stay laws passed by the Legislature. Apurva Vishwanath recalls past judgments
The Centre filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court Monday detailing the "two decades of deliberations" that took place before the farm laws were framed. It underlined the “serious, sincere and constructive efforts” made by the government to engage with “the limited number” of farmers protesting the laws.
The affidavit said the committee “specifically consulted farmers from various states”, and hence the petitioners’ claim of not being consulted “has no basis in fact whatsoever”.
Read Ananthakrishnan G's report
Farmer unions have welcomed the Supreme Court's outburst against the Centre, but turned down the idea of a committee to resolve the issue. Representatives Monday reiterated their demand for a repeal of the farm laws, not merely a stay on them. "... we informed (our lawyers) that we are unanimously not agreeable to go before any committee that may be appointed by the SC due to stubborn attitude of the government," read a statement from the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, a joint forum of farm unions. Read Amil Bhatnagar and Raakhi Jagga's report
The Supreme Court will Tuesday pass an order on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the three recently-enacted farm laws. In an indication to what its judgment may contain, the apex court Monday said it could stay the implementation of the laws and set up a committee to decide whether the laws are in public interest. Here are its key observations:
Read Ananthakrishnan G's report here
Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday asked Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to convince the Centre to repeal the new farm laws instead of proposing to hold programmes like in Karnal.
Agitating farmers had on Sunday ransacked the venue of the 'kisan mahapanchayat' programme at Kaimla village in Karnal, where Khattar was to address the gathering to highlight the "benefits" of the three contentious central agriculture laws. The Haryana Police had used water cannons and lobbed teargas shells to prevent the farmers from marching towards Kaimla village.
The farmers, however, managed to reach the venue and damage a makeshift helipad where Khattar's chopper was to land despite elaborate security arrangements made by police.
A delegation of 500 farmers from Kerala left for Delhi on Monday by bus from here to join their counterparts at the borders of Delhi, who have been protesting against the contentious farm laws since November 26 last year.
The farmers, belonging to 'Kerala Karshaka Sangham', the state chapter of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS), one of the organisations at the forefront of the protest.
AIKS vice president S Ramachandra Pillai flagged off the bus, which is expected to reach Delhi on January 14. (PTI)
Congress MPs Partap Singh Bajwa and Chhaya Verma and former Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Monday staged a walkout from a meeting of the Standing Committee on Agriculture after the panel chairman refused to discuss Centre's three farm laws and their aftermath, sources said.
Citing the large-scale protests undertaken by various farmer unions that have seen thousands of farmers protest at the borders of Delhi for over 40 days, the three Rajya Sabha MPs raised the issue with the chairman of the standing committee. Due to the refusal of the chairman to allow the situation to be discussed by the committee, the three MPs decided to walk out of the meeting in protest, the sources said.
The panel is chaired by BJP MP P C Gaddigoudar.
The meeting held at the Parliament annexe building was to take note of the evidence of the representatives of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying) in connection with the examination of the Subject "Status of Veterinary Services and Availability of Animal Vaccine in the Country".
The Supreme Court stated Monday that it will pronounce its order on the protesting farmers as well as the controversial farm laws tomorrow, news agency PTI reported.
The Haryana Police Monday booked BKU (Charuni) leader Gurnam Singh Charuni and dozens of other protesters for rioting and damaging public property, a day after vandalism at the venue of a farmers' event which was to be addressed by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. According to a police official in Karnal, where the ?Kisan mahapanchayat' was to be held, a case has been registered against 71 people by name, including Gurnam Singh Charuni, while 800-900 unnamed people have also been booked.
They have been booked for rioting, assault on public servant, damaging public property, criminal conspiracy and other charges, police said. The police said they are collecting evidence including video clips in connection with the incident and would take action against those who are found involved in it.
However, nobody has been arrested yet, the police official said. (PTI)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said the "indifferent" attitude adopted by the BJP government towards farmers is a "direct insult" to them.
"The way the BJP government adopted an indifferent attitude towards farmers by being insensitive to them is a direct insult to 'annadata' (farmers). This is extremely condemnable," Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.If they can spot smoke elsewhere, why cannot they see the fire at their own home, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
After the venue of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s programme in Karnal district was vandalised on Sunday, the state BJP’s protest in Jalandhar too faced opposition from farmers who reached the venue but were stopped by the police.
The BJP completed its protest in Company Bagh under heavy police protection. The party was protesting against the four years’ failure of the Punjab government. The police had deployed a vehicle of water cannons and tippers carrying sandbags to stop the advance of the farmers. The entire area was cordoned off and barricades were put up all around 50 to 100 metres from the protest site. DCP Gurmit singh supervised all security arrangements.
Both the BJP and the farmers had announced their respective programmes beforehand, with farmers saying they would oppose the BJP leaders for passing three farm laws. READ MORE
Bharatiya Kisan Union president Naresh Tikait has said the central government should abandon its "stubborn" attitude and resolve the issues of farmers through dialogue.
Speaking to reporters at the BKU headquarters at Sisoli near here on Sunday evening, he said farmers are aware that the three new agri laws have been brought by the Centre "to benefit big corporates" and are "against peasants".
He also accused the government of maintaining a stubborn attitude while farmers have long been protesting on roads.
While the Centre has been claiming that making Minimum Support Price (MSP) legal for all crops will put a burden of Rs 17 lakh crore on the government exchequer annually, there are economists and experts who are not buying this argument.
The MSP of 23 crops is determined by the Commission for Agriculture Cost and Price (CACP) every year, but only a few crops including wheat and paddy are procured on MSP and the rest are purchased by private players.
Along with cancellation of the three farm laws, making MSP legal for all crops is another major demand of the farmers protesting at the Delhi border. READ MORE
The Supreme Court Monday pulled up the Centre for its handling of the farmers protest against the new farm laws saying it is “extremely disappointed” with the way negotiations between them were going and it will constitute a committee headed by a former Chief Justice of India to resolve the impasse.
Indicating amply that it may go to the extent of staying the implementation of the contentious farm laws, the apex court refused to grant extra time to the Centre to explore the possibility of amicable solution saying it has already granted the government a “long rope”.
“We have given you long rope, Mr Attorney General, please don''t lecture us on patience,” a bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, that the top court has made “harsh observations” regarding handling of the situation by the government.
“That was the most innocuous factual thing for us to say,” the bench said. The apex court, which said it will pass orders on the issue concerning farm laws and farmers'' protest in part in the matter, asked the parties to suggest two-three names of former CJIs including former CJI R M Lodha who can head the apex court-appointed panel.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on Monday reiterated the demand for withdrawal of new farm laws enacted by the Centre, claiming that the laws were a "threat" to the future of farmers.
The Congress leader made the remarks while interacting with farmers in his constituency Tonk.
"This is a matter related to the future of farmers. All farmer unions and opposition parties are united and demanding withdrawal of the laws. It is not clear what the government's compulsions to bring these laws were. The laws should be withdrawn," he told reporters.
"We are making the farmers aware of the disadvantages of the laws. The farmers are agitating peacefully and the government should accept their demands," Pilot said. (PTI)
SC suggests names of former CJIs including RM Lodha to head panel for exploring possibility of solution over farm laws protests.
"We have given you enough long rope Mr Attorney General, please don't lecture us on patience," says the top court after AG K K Venugopal seeks time.
The bench says it will pass orders on the issue concerning farmers protests and implementation of new farm laws in parts
The hearing on the farm laws issue is over for today. The Supreme Court has said it will pass orders today or tomorrow.
The Attorney General says thousands of farmers already entered into contracts with traders under new law and staying would cost them heavily. Adds Comm will yield no result if farmers demand complete withdrawal. Says they should give clause by clause suggestions.
The Supreme Court says, 'We are proposing to pass an order to facilitate the solution to farm laws problem through a Committee to be appointed by us.'
'Let me take a risk and say Chief Justice of India wants them (protesting farmers) to go back to their homes,' says CJI SA Bobde.
Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for one of the farmers' unions, suggests that the matter be adjourned for tomorrow; requests the court to consider it.
CJI Bobde says, "You (Centre) have not handled this properly, we will have to take some action today." "How can such important laws be passed through voice vote in Parliament, says senior advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for one of the farmers' unions. If the Centre is serious, then it can hold a joint session of Parliament. Why is the govt shying away from it, he adds.
Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave appearing for one of the farmers' unions, says: "We should be allowed to go to the Ramlila Maidan. We are not interested in any violence."
"What happened with Haryana CM cannot happen. On January 26, farmers with their tractors are planning to march down to Rajpath to destroy a day of national importance, says AG KK Venugopal before SC during hearing on petitions challenging constitutional validity of farm laws.
Attorney General K K Venugopal opposed SC’s suggestion to stay the laws, saying that there are precedents that courts cannot stay legislation. “A law can only be stayed if it’s passed without legislative competence, violates fundamental rights or violates provisions of Constitution.”
The bench, which also comprised of Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, further said that it was concerned if the farmers were getting food and water during their protest at Delhi borders. “People are committing suicides. People are suffering in cold. Who is taking care of water and food?? Old people and women are in the ground. Why are old people in the farmer protests? We don’t want to comment on the agitation,” the bench said. “Whether you have faith or not, we are the Supreme Court of India, we will do our job,” it further told the farm unions.
The bench led by Chief Justice S A Bobde slammed the Centre by asking if the government was a “part of the solution or the problem.” “We are sorry to say that the Centre has not been able to solve the problem and the farmers’ agitation. We don’t want to make any stray observations on your negotiations but we are extremely disappointed with the process. What is going on? States are rebelling against your laws.”
The Supreme Court on Monday said it is “disappointed”with the negotiations between the farmers and the Centre and asked the government if it would pause the implementation of the three new farm laws. The apex court further reiterated the need for a committee on the three laws and said it will stop their implementation if the panel advises doing so. “We are not experts on the economy; you tell us whether govt is going to put on hold farm laws or we will do this,” the court said.
The court’s sharp remarks came during a hearing on petitions challenging the farm laws and the farmer agitation at the Delhi borders.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said, "Some people have committed suicide, old people and women are a part of the agitation. What is happening?, says CJI, and added that not a single plea has been filed that said that the farm laws are good."
Hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the new farm laws as well as the ones raising issues related to the ongoing agitation at Delhi borders, the Supreme Court Monday said it is disappointed with the way the process is going."We don't know what negotiations are going on? Can the farm laws be put on hold for some time?, asks CJI while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the three farm law," Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said.
Farmers will plan January 26 tractor parade after their January 15th meeting with the Union Government. This was decided at a meeting of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) at Singhu border Sunday evening.
Joginder Singh Ugrahan, president of BKU Ugrahan, said, “The issue of tractor parade on R-Day was kept pending for the time being. It was decided unanimously by SKM to discuss it after January 15th meeting with Union Government. We will have an exclusive meeting on this subject after January 15.”
However, the All India Kisan Sangrash Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) Sunday evening said if talks fail yet again, tractor parade will not only be held in Delhi but also in all the 718 districts of India. At district level, trade unions, transport unions and industrial workers too will join the farmers.
As part of preparations for a large protest on Republic Day during which farmers would bring their tractors into the capital, farm unions are carrying out a mass recruitment drive in villages across Punjab. Over the last two days, thousands have signed up.
Farmer unions had earlier announced they would march to the capital on January 26 if their demands to repeal the farm laws are not met. Rajinder Singh, vice-president, Kirti Kisan Union Punjab, said: “We began the drive last Friday and it has received a good response. This is being done so that our movement is well organised . We will note down details of all volunteers who will travel to Singhu ahead of Republic Day. We are expecting lakhs of people from Punjab to turn up…”