Supreme Court to Address Contempt Plea Against Punjab Chief Secretary, DGP Over Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s Fast Unto Death

Jagjit Singh Dallewal’s Fast Unto Death: The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear a contempt plea against the Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) when farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal enters a critical phase of his fast unto death. Jagjit Singh Dallewal had started his hunger strike from November 26, 2024, demanding legal guarantee for MSP on crops and other farmer-centric measures.

Another bench consisting of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh would hear a petition filed on behalf of Dallewal seeking a Centre compliance with its 2021 proposal which also promised MSP assurance post-repeal of the controversial farm laws. The court will be listening to the petition as tensions in the protest grow further amidst a declining health graph for Jagjit Singh Dallewal.

The Supreme Court had on January 6 deferred the matter after being told that Dallewal had agreed to meet a High-Powered Committee led by Justice (Retd) Nawab Singh. The committee was constituted by the top court to explore an amicable resolution to the ongoing protest.

Expressing hope for progress, the court stated, “Let us hope something positive emerges out of it,” while directing the committee to report the outcome of the discussions. The bench also questioned why the Centre could not demonstrate openness to addressing the farmers’ legitimate grievances.

The court on December 20 advised the Punjab government to shift Dallewal to a local hospital close to the protest camp so that his health can be kept safe and his protest is continued. Dallewal has, however, all these days refused to accept medical aid, raising further controversy over how the government was dealing with the issue.

Taking exception to media reports that made out the court to be pressurizing Dallewal to conclude his hunger strike, a bench clarified on January 2 that its directive was solely made so that his health was taken care of. “Our direction was not to break his fast. We only said his health should be taken care of while he continues his peaceful protest,” the court said, admonishing the Punjab Advocate General for having dished out alleged misinformation.

Justice Surya Kant said the Punjab Government was not appearing to be conciliatory. “Your attitude is that there should be no conciliation. That is the whole problem,” he observed. The Advocate General of Punjab defended the stand of the government saying it was interested in amicable settlement of the issue.

The court also had questions for Centre’s reluctance not to issue even a statement hinting at accepting the farmers’ genuine demands, like legal guaranteeing of MSP over which the very protests are waged.

As the Supreme Court is set to deliberate on the crucial issues it has framed before itself, focus is on ensuring that the issues of the rights and health of the protesting farmers are addressed together with their old demands. The final verdict will define the course ahead in the further movement of farmers and the much-needed dialogue between the government and the agricultural fraternity.