The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), one of the organisations spearheading the farmers’ protest, on Friday urged the Supreme Court to quash the new farm laws and the amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, saying these would “corporatise” farming and lead to “cartelisation” that would ruin cultivators across the country.

In its petition, the BKU said it had earlier made representations to all states and Union Territories, too, to urge the Centre to withdraw the legislation but it had not got any response despite the protests since November 26 at Delhi’s borders.

The petition filed through advocate A.P. Singh has assailed the Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020, as being arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional, and hence liable to be struck down.

“…These acts are illegal and arbitrary because they would pave the way for cartelisation and commercialisation of agriculture produce,” the petition complained.

The petition comes against the backdrop of DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva filing a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the new farm legislation.

Besides Siva, advocate G.S. Mani and certain other individuals have also filed petitions challenging the new laws. The petitions are likely to be tagged together and taken up for hearing anytime next week.

A farmer at the protest at Singhu border on Friday PTI

The BKU petition said: “The implementation of the acts in its current form will spell disaster for the farming community by opening a parallel market which is unregulated and gives enough place for exploitation of the Indian farmers…

“Without agriculture produce market committees acting as a protective shield around the farmers, the market would ultimately fall to the corporate greed of multinational companies who are more ‘profit-oriented’ and have no care for the condition of the poverty-stricken farmers….”

According to the petitioner, the new laws seek to corporatise agriculture and usher in an unregulated and exploitative regime because Indian farmers are mostly illiterate and would not have the knowledge to negotiate the best possible terms with a private company. This, the petition said, would lead to unequal bargaining positions in negotiating farm agreements with corporate houses.