Shambhu border protest: SC asks Punjab to convince farmers to remove tractor-trollies, says highways not parking space

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Punjab government to persuade farmers protesting at the Shambhu border since February 13 to remove tractors and carts from the road, saying “roads are not parking spaces”.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the police chiefs of Punjab and Haryana to hold a meeting along with the superintendents of police of the adjoining districts of Patiala and Ambala within a week for partial reopening of the highway at the inter-state border at Shambhu.

“We are not giving any orders but we are urging the State of Punjab to immediately convince the farmers to remove their tractors and trolleys. Even parking can create problems. We are now taking up the matter and will keep it pending till a respectable, amicable, fair and equitable solution is found to all the problems,” the court told the Punjab government.

The court stressed that nobody likes farmers or the farming community to face any kind of hardship and said, “After all, we are also concerned. Both states are concerned and everyone is worried about it.” “The MDs of Punjab and Haryana and the Deputy MDs of Patiala and Ambala along with the Deputy Commissioners of both the districts will meet within a week and work out the modalities for partial opening of the expressway, initially for the purpose of ambulances, senior citizens, women, students, essential services and daily commuters from nearby areas,” the court said.

He said that if both sides can work out such modalities, they need not wait for any order from this court and should implement the resolution immediately.

The Haryana government’s petition was being heard challenging the high court order asking it to remove barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where protesting farmers have been camping since February 13, within a week.

The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the ‘Samyukta Kisan Morcha’ (Non-Political) and ‘Kisan Mazdoor Morcha’ announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of their demands, including legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

The court posted the matter for a resumed hearing on August 22 and said it will pass an order on that day to set up a multi-member committee that will talk to all stakeholders and find a solution.

“Now that we are intervening to some extent, which we normally don’t do, we intend to constitute a committee which will go to the site, listen to them (the farmers) and the two state governments. It will take into account the views of all the stakeholders and then suggest a holistic view,” he said.

The court appreciated the initiative taken by the Haryana and Punjab governments in suggesting the names of “totally apolitical” persons for the proposed panel who have rendered “commendable services” in their respective fields.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Haryana government, requested the court to stay an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by which it ordered a judicial commission to investigate the extent of force used by the police during a clash between protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel in February in which a farmer, Shubhkaran Singh, was killed.

Singh, 21, a native of Bathinda, was killed and several police personnel were injured in clashes in Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.

The court told Mehta that the panel is headed by a retired high court judge, which would only add to the impartiality and objectivity of the probe.

“At most, the committee would issue an opinion or a recommendation, or both. It will submit it to the Supreme Court, which has appointed the commission. It may eventually reach us, as we are also busy with the matter. We will look into it,” Justice Kant said.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh told the court that the state has suggested a name for the panel proposed by the top court.

Mehta said Haryana has suggested a panel of six names for the committee and the court chooses those it wants to be on the panel.

Singh urged the court to order partial reopening of the six-lane highway, with one lane for two-way traffic on an experimental basis, as the general public was suffering due to the blockade.

The court said the process of dialogue by the proposed committee and others may take some time, but in the meantime, the Punjab government can persuade the protesting farmers to at least remove tractors, carts and everything else from their side as “roads are not parking spaces.”

“Both (Punjab and Haryana) will have a discussion on partial opening of the highway in one direction or in both directions, both will decide. You are the people who are on the ground. You know the situation on the ground well, we don’t know and we don’t want to depend on information from newspapers and give orders that can create unnecessary problems.”