New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre why it couldn't say that it would consider the genuine grievances of farmers protesting over various demands, including the legal guarantee of minimum support price for crops.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, "Why can't your client make a statement that it will consider the genuine demands and we are open to discuss the grievances of farmers, our doors are open? Why can't the central government make a statement?"
The law officer said perhaps the court is not aware of various factors weighing in, and therefore, right now "we are confining ourselves to the issue of health of one individual". Mehta stressed that the Centre is concerned with each and every farmer.”
The bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, asked the Centre to respond on a fresh plea filed on behalf of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal seeking direction to the Union government for implementation of the proposal, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops, made to the protesting farmers in 2021, after the farm laws were repealed.
Petitioner in-person Guninder Kaur Gill, who filed the fresh plea on behalf of Dallewal, was asked not to adopt a confrontational approach as the court had constituted a high-powered committee headed by a retired High Court judge to deal with various such issues. It was argued before the bench that committees were being constituted to resolve the same issues.
The bench said it had "full faith" in the committee, headed by a former judge who, in a way, had roots in the agriculture sector from both Punjab and Haryana. “We have included experts from Punjab and Haryana, who are agriculturists, economists and professors. They are all learned, neutral fellows and their names came from both sides….”, said the bench.
The bench directed a copy of the petition to be served upon the member secretary of the high-powered committee, which is likely to hold talks with the protesting farmers and other stakeholders on January 3. The bench asked the Centre and the committee to file their responses to the fresh petition filed on behalf of Dallewal within 10 days.
