Stay away from political parties: Supreme Court to protesting farmers at Shambhu border

The Supreme Court on Monday constituted a committee headed by retired Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nawab Singh to look into the demands and grievances of farmers agitating at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana [State Of Haryana and anr vs Uday Pratap Singh and ors].The border had been sealed to prevent Punjab farmers from marching to Delhi to press their demands.A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan in its order asked the committee to formulate its terms of reference and issues. The other committee members are former Haryana Director General of Police BS Sandhu, Devinder Sharma, Professor Ranjit Singh Ghumman and Dr. Sukhpal Singh.Notably, it also asked the protesting farmers to stay away from political parties and not make unrealistic demands."We caution the agitating farmers to keep themselves at a safe distance from the political parties, political issues, and not to insist on such demands which are not feasible to be accepted outrightly," the Court said in its order.The Court also made it clear that the protestors are free to shift their agitation to alternative sites.When counsel for the State of Punjab today said they had talked to the farmers about their issues and proposed set of demands, Justice Kant remarked,"Please do not politicise this case. We will not say anything more today.".The Bench was hearing Haryana government’s petition challenging Punjab and Haryana High Court’s recent direction to open the Shambhu border which connects Punjab and Haryana.The border had been closed by the Haryana government to prevent movement of protesting farmers towards Delhi.The top court had during earlier hearings said that the protesting farmers have a right to voice their grievances and the authorities including Central and Punjab governments must bring in neutral persons for a resolution of their demands.It had directed States to suggest names of persons who can be part of the committee to talk to the farmers..In its order today, the top court said all the persons suggested by Punjab and Haryana were eminent individuals with high integrity and knowledge in their specialised fields, apart from being aware the hardships faced by farmers in rural areas. "We may hasten to add that there is a sizeable population of non-agriculture communities in the States of Punjab and Haryana – largely belong to the marginalized sections of the society and live below the poverty line. Most of them are the strength and backbone of agricultural activities in their villages/areas. We acknowledge their contribution towards the agricultural growth and are of the view that their legitimate aspirations, if not enforceable rights, also deserve empathy and due consideration by the Committee, while examining the larger issues," the Court said. .Having constituted the committee, the Court directed it to reach out to the agitating farmers and request them to remove their tractors and trolleys from the border. "We hope and trust that ... they (farmers) 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. This gesture will provide huge relief to the general public who are facing extreme hardships due to the blockade of the Highways. It will also facilitate the High-powered Committee and both the States to consider the farmers genuine and just demands in a dispassionate and objective manner," the Court said..Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh appeared for the State of Punjab..[Read order]