Farmers Movement Archive

Fresh plea in Supreme Court against farmers’ protests

NEW DELHI: Hours after a man's mutilated body was found at the Singhu border, a fresh plea was moved in the Supreme Court seeking removal of the protesting farmers from the site, alleging that they were not only violating the right to free movement of citizens but also indulging in wanton violence. The petition, filed by advocate Shekhar Jha, on behalf of two petitioners Swati Goel and Sajeev Newar, stated that "on the day of Dussehra, the body of a Dalit man Lakhbir Singh, was found hanging on police barricade in a mutilated condition... a protest which in itself is illegal cannot be continued when it is witnessing anti-humanitarian acts". The petitioners also referred to the largescale violence on the streets of Delhi on Republic Day and reports of alleged sexual assault on a woman at the protest site to seek immediate removal of the protesting farmers blocking the national highways linking Delhi to other states. The petitioners also said as per the Covid norms, no protests and large gathering of persons could be permitted. On October 4, the SC had questioned the rationale behind farmers continuing their protests, including blocking of national highways, when none of the three contentious agricultural laws are in force as all have been kept in abeyance for 18 months in January by the court after an assurance from the government to that effect. A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar had said, "Why is the protest when the three laws are not in force at all? It has been kept in abeyance by the court. There is a stay. The government is also bound by the law enacted by Parliament, isn't it?" These observations had come on a petition filed by Kisan Mahapanchayat, which had sought permission to hold protests at Jantar Mantar near Parliament against the farm laws. It questioned the petitioner for moving the Rajasthan HC challenging the validity of the farm laws and simultaneously requesting permission to protest. On September 30, another bench of the SC headed by Justice Sanjay Kaul had cited its own ruling that barred protesters from blocking public roads and said farmers' grievances could be addressed either by Parliament or judiciary but they cannot be seen to cause harassment to commuters through sit-in dharnas on highways hindering traffic to and from Delhi to neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Times of India

2021-10-16

Delhi