The Supreme Court will hear a petition on Monday that seeks to reopen highways, including the Shambhu border, which have been blocked by protesting farmers.
Here are the key points:
- A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan will hear the petition, which asks the Punjab, Haryana, and Union governments to remove the protesting farmers from the highway.
- The petition also calls for the protesting farmers to be ordered to maintain law and order.
- It argues that blocking highways violates the fundamental rights of the people and is illegal under the National Highway Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
- The petition suggests that legal action should be taken against those blocking the highways.
- On Sunday, farmers postponed their march to Delhi after Haryana police used tear gas and water cannons at the Shambhu border. The farmers said they would decide on their next steps after assessing the situation.
- In February, the Haryana government closed the Shambhu border to stop the farmers from marching towards Delhi.
- At that time, the farmers renewed their protests, similar to the 2020 anti-farm law protests, demanding the legalisation of the Minimum Support Price for crops.
- The frequent closure of the Shambhu border has caused significant inconvenience in Haryana.
- Haryana's Union minister and former Chief Minister, ML Khattar, called it a "big problem," claiming that those protesting on the Punjab side of the border were not real farmers but individuals trying to destabilise elected governments.
- In August, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the state government to remove the barricades, and the matter is still pending in the Supreme Court.
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