New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (September 2) constituted a five-member high-powered committee to amicably resolve the grievances of the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border near Ambala under the chairmanship of former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nawab Singh.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan directed the committee to reach out to the protesting farmers and persuade them to vacate the Shambhu border or the other roads connecting the States of Punjab and Haryana without any delay. The bench said that the state governments of Punjab and Haryana will be free to give their suggestions to the committee.
Haryana government set up barricades on Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February
Barricades were set up by the Haryana government on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February this year after a call for march to Delhi was announced by the ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ (Non-Political) and ‘Kisan Mazdoor Morcha’ announced in support of their various demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
Apex court was hearing an appeal by Haryana govt against High Court order to remove barricades at Shambhu border
The apex court constituted the committee while hearing an appeal by the Haryana government against the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing to remove barricades at the Shambhu border.
Who are the members of the committee?
Besides chairman Justice Nawab Singh, the other members of the committee are – Retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer BS Sandhu, professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman, Dr Sukhpal Singh, agricultural economist from the Punjab Agriculture University and Mohali resident Devinder Sharma,
“We hope and trust that one of the major demands of the agitating farmers regarding constitution of a neutral high-powered committee having been accepted with the consent of both the States, they will immediately respond to the request of the high-powered committee and will vacate the Shambu border or the other roads connecting the two States without any delay,” the top court bench said.
The bench further said, “This gesture will provide huge relief to the general public who are facing extreme hardships due to the blockade of the highways and will also facilitate the high-powered committee and both the States (Punjab and Haryana) to consider the farmers’ genuine and just demands in a dispassionate and objective manner.”
The bench also said that the issues that the farmers are facing should not be politicised and be considered by the five-member committee, which has been directed to convene its first meeting within a week, in a phased manner.