The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Haryana government to remove the barricades set up at the Shambhu border near Ambala, which have been blocking the national highway since February. The court asked the state government how it can block a highway and emphasized its duty to regulate traffic.
The barricades were set up in February when farmers' unions, including SKM and KMM, announced a march to Delhi to demand a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops, among other things. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier ordered the state government to open the highway within seven days, which the government is now appealing in the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, made it clear that while the state can regulate traffic, it cannot block the highway entirely.
"How can a State block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate," Justice Bhuyan said after the counsel informed the bench about filing of appeal in the apex court.
The court's order comes as a relief to commuters who have been facing difficulties due to the blocked highway.
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