Supreme Court Highlights : A bench led by Justice Surya Kant proposes forming an independent panel to seek an amicable resolution to the issues; requests names of ‘suitable individuals’ from Punjab and Haryana.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court instructed the governments of Punjab and Haryana to maintain the current situation at the Shambhu border until next week to prevent the situation from escalating. The Court also announced the formation of an independent committee to negotiate with the protesting farmers and seek an amicable resolution to the issues.
A three-judge Bench, led by Justice Surya Kant, requested that the states of Punjab and Haryana provide names of “suitable individuals” to be included in the committee.
“Until then, both states are directed to maintain the status quo at the site to prevent any escalation at the Shambhu border,” the Bench stated.
Justice Surya Kant emphasized the “trust deficit” between the government and the protesting farmers and suggested that the issues could be resolved through negotiations.
Justice Surya Kant questioned the efforts made to negotiate with the farmers, noting, “Have you taken any initiative to negotiate with the farmers? Your ministers might approach the farmers without understanding the local issues. There is a trust deficit. Why not involve some neutral parties? There need to be confidence-building measures.”
Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh informed the Bench that the blockade of the highway was having “huge and grave ramifications on the economic health of Punjab, as goods are not able to reach Delhi.”
Emphasizing a “result-oriented approach,” Singh argued that the national highway cannot remain blocked indefinitely.
The Bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan, instructed the states of Punjab and Haryana to propose plans for removing barricades at the Shambhu border to alleviate inconvenience to the general public. The matter is scheduled to be revisited next week.
This order was issued during a hearing on a petition from the Haryana government, challenging the July 10 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which required the removal of barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala within a week. Farmers have been camping at the site since February.
Representing the Haryana government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Haryana Senior Additional Advocate General Lokesh Sinhal argued that over 500-600 tractors, modified as “armoured tanks,” were present at the site. They expressed concern that allowing these vehicles to travel to Delhi could lead to law and order issues.
You need to make some effort; after all, you have to reach out to the farmers. Why else would they feel the need to come to Delhi?” the Bench remarked.
Justice Bhuyan noted, “You can’t block the highway indefinitely… it’s been over a year.” In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated, “The NH cannot be used for JCBs, trolleys, etc., as the Motor Vehicles Act prevents such vehicles on national highways.”
Addressing the issue of modified tractors, the Bench observed that protesters might need some shelter and noted that it is common in Punjab and Haryana for farmers to modify their tractors.
During a related hearing on July 12, the Supreme Court had instructed the Haryana government to remove the barricades at the Shambhu border. “How can a state block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate it,” the court had stated.
The Haryana government submitted that despite its clear statement regarding the potential law and order issues, threat to life and property, and a request to move the protesters away from the National Highway, the High Court had, on an “experimental basis,” directed the opening of the Shambhu border without issuing any orders against the agitators.
The Haryana government argued that law and order is a state matter, and it is the state’s responsibility to assess the situation, including threat perception and the likelihood of breaches of peace and law.
The government highlighted that the High Court order acknowledged the presence of 400-500 trolleys, 50-60 other vehicles, and around 500 agitators at the Shambhu border but did not issue directives to these “illegally agitating groups” to vacate the highway, stop causing inconvenience, or prevent law and order issues.
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 directed the state of Haryana on July 10 to open the Shambhu border on an experimental basis to prevent public inconvenience.
A High Court Bench comprising Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Vikas Bahl stated that it was apparent that the “lifelines of the state of Punjab” were blocked based on mere apprehensions, while “the cause has dwindled.” Thus, it would be in the general public’s interest for “the state of Haryana not to continue blocking the highways indefinitely,” the High Court had noted.
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