Supreme Court forms neutral panel for talks with farmers at Shambhu border

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan also asked the Committee Chairman to seek the presence of Baldev Raj Kamboj, Vice-Chancellor, CCS, Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, as a special invitee to the High-powered Committee as and when his expert opinion is necessitated.

Hearing an appeal by Haryana, challenging the Punjab and Haryana HC order asking it “to open at least the barricades at Shambhu border within a week to relieve the general public of inconvenience”, the SC had earlier mooted an amicable settlement to the dispute and sought names for constituting a committee to talk to the farmers.

Accordingly, the committee asked the two states to give their suggestions on who should be part of the committee.

Perusing the names given by the states, the SC said, “All the names suggested by the States of Punjab and Haryana are eminent, distinct in their respective fields and are above board. They are persons of high integrity with a dedicated commitment to the field of their specialisation, with special expertise in the field of agriculture and firsthand knowledge of the hardships being experienced by the rural people

including farmers… We acknowledge their contribution towards agricultural growth and are of the view that their legitimate aspirations, if not enforceable rights, also deserve empathy and due consideration by the Committee, while examining the larger issues which are confronting the farming community in the States of Punjab and Haryana.”

It also asked the Committee, “To reach out to the agitating farmers at the Shambhu border to impress upon them to immediately remove their tractors/trolleys, tents and other accessories etc. from and near the National Highway so as to enable the civil and police administration of both the States to open the National Highway for the purposes illustrated in para-2 of our Order dated 12th August, 2024.”