Shambhu border case: Supreme Court forms committee to resolve farmers' grievances

Supreme Court/ File pic

The Supreme Court on Monday formed a high-powered committee to amicably resolve the problems of farmers protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border at Shambhu. The panel, led by Justice Nawab Singh, a former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge, sought to address farmers' concerns without politicising the Shambhu border case, reported PTI.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan urged the committee to convene its first meeting within a week and work with protesting farmers to clear the tractors and trolleys that were blocking the Shambhu border, therefore bringing respite to commuters, the news agency report stated. The court stated that the Punjab and Haryana governments are free to make proposals to the committee.

Shambhu border case: SC tells committee to request farmers to remove their tractors

According to the PTI report, the committee's members include retired IPS officer PS Sandhu, Devender Sharma, Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman, and Dr Sukhpal Singh, an agricultural economist at Punjab Agricultural University. The panel was also ordered to seek the expert opinion of Professor B R Kamboj, Vice Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, as a special invitee, as needed.

"The High powered committee should reach out to and request the agitating farmers to remove their tractors. We hope the farmers will listen to the committee and vacate their vehicles from the border to provide huge relief to the general public...," an ANI report quoted the court as saying.

The court warned the protesting farmers to stay away from political parties and avoid making unrealistic demands. It emphasised that the farmers' concerns should be addressed gradually by the committee and that they are free to move their peaceful protests to other locations, the PTI report added.

Shambhu border case: SC was hearing plea from the Haryana govt

This ruling came as the court heard a petition from the Haryana government appealing a high court order for the removal of barricades at the Shambhu border, where farmers have been protesting since February 13. The Haryana government first set up the barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in response to the 'Samyukta Kisan Morcha' (Non-Political) and 'Kisan Mazdoor Morcha' announcing a march to Delhi in support of their demands, which included a legal guarantee for the minimum support price (MSP) for their crops.

With agency inputs