2 september 2024 : As farmers continue to protest at Shambhu Border since February, the Supreme Court on Monday set up a multi-member high-powered committee headed by Justice Nawab Singh – a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court — to talk to them to amicably resolve their grievances.
A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said the other members of the committee will be former Haryana DGP PS Sandhu, prominent agriculture expert Devender Sharma, Professor of Eminence at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Prof Ranjit Singh Ghuman and Agricultural Economist at Punjab Agriculture University Dr Sukhpal Singh.
Describing Prof Baldev Raj Kamboj, Vice Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan singh Agriculture University, Hisar, as an “outstanding eminent agriculture scientist and highly suitable for the arduous nature of the duties entrusted to the high-powered committee”, the Bench asked the panel to seek his presence as a special invitee as and when his expert opinion is needed.
It asked the committee to submit an interim report on the next date of hearing.
The top court asked the committee — drawn from the names suggested by both the states — to reach out to the agitating farmers at Shambhu Border to impress upon them to immediately remove their tractors, trolleys, tents and other accessories 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 purposes illustrated in our order dated August 12, 2024.
“We hope and trust that one of the major demands of the agitating farmers regarding constitution of a neutral high-powered committee having been accepted with the consent of both the states, they will immediately respond to the high-powered committee and will vacate Shambhu Border or the other roads connecting the two states without any delay,” it said.
“This gesture will provide a huge relief to the general public who are facing extreme hardships due to the blockade of the highway. It will also facilitate the high-powered committee and both the states to consider the farmers’ genuine and just demands in a dispassionate and objective manner,” said the Bench which also included Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.
It said the protesters were at liberty to shift their agitation to an alternative site provided by the authorities.
Punjab Advocate General Singh and Haryana senior Additional Advocate General Lokesh Sinhal welcomed the order that came on the Haryana Government’s petition challenging the July 10 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court requiring it to remove within a week the barricades at the Shambhu Border.
Noting that farmers have their own “genuine issues”, the top court asked the farmers to stay away from political parties, saying the protest must not be politicised.
“We caution the agitating farmers to keep themselves at a safe distance from political parties, political issues and not to insist on such demands which are not feasible to be accepted outright. In other words, all their issues will be considered in a phased manner by this court after taking into consideration the recommendations that may be made by the high-powered committee in due course of time,” it said.
The Bench, however, chose not to refer specific issues to the committee and instead, it asked the committee chairperson to convene a meeting within a week to formulate the issues that may arise for its consideration. “Both the states of Punjab and Haryana shall be at liberty to give their suggestions to the committee,” the Bench said, adding the committee shall place before it within a week the issue to be considered by it.
It said the chairperson of the committee may appoint a member secretary for the purpose of coordinating among the members, convening meetings and maintaining records.
“We may hasten to add that there is a sizeable population of non-agriculture communities in the states of Punjab and Haryana, largely belonging to the marginalised sections of society that live below the poverty line. Most of them are the strength and backbone of agricultural activities in their villages and areas. We acknowledge their contribution towards agriculture growth and are of the view that their legitimate aspirations, if not enforceable rights, also deserve sympathy and due consideration by the committee,” the top court said.
It directed the chief secretaries and DGPs of Punjab and Haryana to provide all logistic support to the committee to enable it to “swing into action”.
The Haryana Government set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ (Non-Political) and ‘Kisan Mazdoor Morcha’ announced a farmers’ march to Delhi in support of their demands, including legal guarantee of Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their produce.
Maintaining that farmers have a right to voice their grievances, the Supreme Court had on August 2 asked the governments of Punjab and Haryana not to precipitate the situation at the Shambhu Border near Ambala where farmers have been camping since February. “In a democratic set-up, yes, they have a right to voice their grievances. Those grievances can be voiced at their place also,” it had said.
Highlighting the “trust deficit” between the government and the protesting farmers, Justice Kant had said the issues could be resolved through negotiations.
More than five months after the “unlawful sealing of the border between Haryana and Punjab” to prevent farmers from “protesting peacefully”, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had on July 10 directed the state of Haryana to open the Shambhu border on an experimental basis to prevent inconvenience to the general public.