SC says farmers have right to carry out protests But it has to be non-violent, top court observes
Acknowledging the right of the farmers to carry out non-violent protests, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it was thinking of setting up an “impartial and independent” committee of agricultural experts and farmers unions to remove the deadlock over the three contentious farm laws.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde said it would put together a panel, which may include experts like P Sainath and representatives of the government and farmers bodies to look for the resolution of the deadlock over the statutes.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to form a committee to resolve the farmers’ agitation, saying the government’s negotiations would “again fail” and the dispute would “soon become a national issue” if allowed to fester.
After taking on itself the responsibility to broker a possible settlement, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde listed the matter for urgent hearing on Thursday. It issued notices to the Centre and eight farmers’ organisations.
Earlier, when solicitor-general Tushar Mehta suggested that senior ministers were holding talks “regularly” and insinuated that the farmers’ stand was opaque, Justice Bobde cut him short.