Acknowledging the right of the farmers to carry out non-violent protests, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it was thinking of setting up an “impartial and independent” committee of agricultural experts and farmers unions to remove the deadlock over the three contentious farm laws.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said it would put together a panel, which may include experts like P Sainath and representatives of the government and farmers' bodies to look for the resolution of the deadlock over the statutes.
“We acknowledge the right of farmers to protest but it has to be non-violent,” the bench, also comprising justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, said.
In a hearing conducted via video conferencing, the top court said the purpose of staging protest can be achieved if the farmers and the government will hold talks and "we wish to facilitate that".
“We will not decide the validity of law today. The only thing which we will decide is the issue of protest and the right to move freely,” the bench observed in the ongoing hearing.
The farmers’ protest against the Centre’s three agri-marketing laws at the borders of the national capital entered its fourth week on Thursday amid a cold wave in Delhi. Thousands of farmers, camping at the border points of the city have stuck to their demand of repealing the new laws.
The apex court on Wednesday told the Centre that its talks with the farmers’ unions have “not worked apparently” and were bound to fail. However, the protesting leaders dismissed the SC’s suggestion of forming the panel as no solution.
There was disruption of traffic movement on key routes in the national capital on Thursday, the 22nd day of the farmers' protest to demand for the repeal of the three new agri marketing laws.
The top court on Wednesday also issued notices to the Centre and eight farmers’ organisations.
The farmers’ organisations issued with notices are the BKU (Rakesh Tikait faction), BKU Sidhupur (Jagjeet Singh Dallewal), BKU Rajewal (Balbeer Singh Rajewal), BKU Lakhowal (Harinder Singh Lakhowal), Jamhoori Kisan Sabha (Kulwant Singh Sandhu), BKU Dakaunda (Buta Singh Burjgill), BKU Doaba (Manjit Singh Rai), and Kul Hind Kisan Federation (Prem Singh Bhangu).
The bench has been hearing two petitions moved by law student Rishabh Sharma and advocate G.S. Mani.
While Sharma has sought eviction of the farmers massed on Delhi’s borders citing the hardship to commuters, Mani has requested quashing of the new farm laws as illegal and an immediate resolution of the dispute.
Petitioner Sharma, the law student, has argued that blocking public roads is illegal and violates the recent Supreme Court judgment relating to the Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi against the new citizenship regime.
The apex court had ruled that protests that block roads are illegal and such demonstrations can be held only at designated sites.