SC Forms High-Power Committee To Address Farmers’ Agitation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Monday established a high-powered committee to engage in talks with farmers protesting at the Shambhu border, seeking a guarantee for minimum support prices and other demands. The move comes in response to a petition by the Haryana government challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had directed the removal of the blockade preventing farmers from marching to New Delhi.

The committee, led by Justice Nawab Singh, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, includes retired Indian Police Service officer P.S. Sandhu, agricultural expert Professor Devender Sharma, Punjab Agricultural University economist Sukhpal Singh, and B.R. Khamboj, Vice-Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Agricultural University, who will serve as a special invitee.

Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, who issued the order, directed the committee to encourage the farmers to relocate their tractors from the Shambhu border to alleviate public inconvenience. The committee will assist in identifying an alternative site for the protests, ensuring that the demonstrations continue without disrupting public life.

The Supreme Court also advised the farmers to avoid involvement with political parties and emphasized that the protest should not be politicized. The bench further instructed the committee to engage with state representatives from Punjab and Haryana to facilitate constructive dialogue and resolution.