‘Farmer-govt trust deficit’: Supreme Court orders status quo at Shambhu

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, July 24

Observing that there is a trust deficit between the protesting farmers and the government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed Punjab and Haryana to maintain status quo at the Shambhu border till next week to prevent the situation from flaring up.

It also directed the formation of an independent committee to negotiate with the farmers to find an amicable resolution to their issues. A three-judge Bench led by Justice Surya Kant directed Punjab and Haryana to suggest names of “suitable individuals” to be included in the committee.

“Have you taken any initiative to negotiate with the farmers? Your ministers might go to the farmers without realising the local issues. There is a trust deficit. Why don’t you have some neutral umpires? There have to be confidence-building measures,” Justice Kant said.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the Bench that the blockade of the highway was resulting in “huge and grave ramifications on the economic health of Punjab because goods are not able to come to Delhi”.

Suggesting a “result-oriented approach”, Singh said the national highway could not be blocked endlessly.

Reach out, hold talks

Reach out to farmers. Why would they otherwise want to come to Delhi? Where is trust deficit… Why don’t you have some neutral umpires? —SC Bench

The Bench, which included Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, asked both the states to suggest proposals for the removal of barricades at the Shambhu border to prevent inconvenience to the general public. The matter will be taken up next week.

The order came during a hearing on the Haryana Government’s petition challenging the July 10 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court requiring it to remove within a week the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala where farmers have been camping since February.

On behalf of the Haryana Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Haryana Senior Additional Advocate General Lokesh Sinhal submitted that over 500-600 tractors, modified as “armoured tanks”, were stationed at the site and if they were allowed to travel to Delhi, law and order problems would arise.

“You need to make some effort after all. You have to reach out to the farmers. Why would they otherwise need to come to Delhi?” the Bench commented.

Justice Bhuyan said, “You also can’t block the highway…it’s been for over a year.” Mehta responded, “The NH can’t be used for JCBs, trolleys, etc. as the Motor Vehicles Act prevents the use of such vehicles on national highways.” On tractors being modified by farmers, the Bench said the protesters too might need some shelter and that it was a common practice among farmers in Punjab and Haryana to modify their tractors.

Will burn Budget copies: SKM

Giving a call to burn Budget copies, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) accused Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of prioritising the corporatisation of agriculture at the expense of farmers and workers. It said the Budget ignored their long pending demands of a law on MSP and farm loan waiver.