AGENCIES / NEW DELHI
The Supreme Court today stayed the implementation of the controversial farm laws until further orders. The court also formed a four-member committee to get a clearer picture of the three farm laws. The committee comprises of HS Mann, Pramod Kumar Joshi, Ashok Gulati and Anil Dhanwant.
Hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the three farm laws passed by the government and removal of protesting farmers from Delhi entry points, the apex court said that farmers agitating on Delhi borders cannot sit on an indefinite protest.
The court also noted that no farm land will be grabbed by default adding that it only wants the matter to be resolved.
“We’re concerned about the validity of the farm laws and also about protecting life and property of citizens affected by protests. We are trying to solve the problem in accordance with the powers we have. One of the powers we’ve is to suspend the legislation and make a committee,” Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said.
“This committee will be for us. All of you people who are expected to solve the issue will go before this committee. It will not pass an order or punish you, it will only submit a report to us,” he added.
“We are forming a committee so that we have a clearer picture. We don’t want to hear arguments that farmers will not go to the committee. We are looking to solve the problem. If you (farmers) want to agitate indefinitely, you can do so,” the bench said.
Advocate ML Sharma, who filed a plea challenging the farm laws, tells the court that farmers have said they will not appear before any committee to be constituted by the court. He told the court that farmers protesting at the Delhi borders have complained that while several people came for discussions on the matter, the Prime Minister did not come.”
He told the court, “We cannot ask the Prime Minister to go. He is not a party in the case.”
‘Will not leave the borders’, says farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait after SC suspends farm laws
