SC sets up committee to resolve farm law impasse, farmers raise fingers over its neutrality | Recap

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and ordered the setting up of a committee. The four-member committee has been asked by the Supreme Court to hold talks with farmers and submit its report within two months.

The big development came a day after the Supreme Court rapped the central government over the impasse with the protesting farmers, saying it was “extremely disappointed” with the negotiation process.

When the SC resumed hearing on Tuesday, the bench ordered the formation of a panel to look into the farmers' grievances against the three farm laws and resolve the impasse over farmers between the Centre and farmers' unions protesting at Delhi borders.

“We are not seized with matters of life and death. We are hearing the validity of farm laws. We are trying to solve the problem in accordance with law,” the CJI said.

But in their response to what the apex court called an “extraordinary” order of stay, the farmer unions said they never demanded that the apex court form a committee to resolve the impasse, alleging the Central government is behind these developments.

They also made it clear that their agitation will continue till the three laws are repealed.

Here are the top 10 developments on this big story on farmers’ protest:

1. The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the implementation of three farms laws until further orders. "We are going to stay the implementation of the three farmer legislations. Stay till further orders," said Chief Justice of India Bobde.

The order was pronounced as a three-judge bench, headed by the CJI, took up a batch of petitions regarding the constitutional validity of three farm laws and the plea to disperse protesting farmers.

2. Observing that a stay on implementation of the farm laws at present may “assuage the hurt feelings” of farmers and encourage them to come to the negotiating table with confidence and good faith, the bench asserted that the apex court cannot be said to be “completely powerless” to grant stay of any executive action under a statutory enactment.

3. A day after the SC told the Centre that it was “extremely disappointed” with the negotiation process, the court on Tuesday formed a four-member committee to hold talks with farmers over the contentious farm laws. The committee will now look into farmers' grievances against the three new laws.

4. On the formation of the committee, CJI Bobde said, “We are forming a committee so that we have a clearer picture. We don't want to hear arguments that farmers will not go to the committee. We are looking to solve the problem. If you (farmers) want to agitate indefinitely, you can do so.”

5. Saying the Supreme Court was trying to solve the problem in the best way, the CJI said, “This committee will be for us. All of you people who are expected to solve the issue will go before this committee. It will not pass an order or punish you, it will only submit a report to us... The committee is part of the judicial process in this case. We are planning to suspend the laws but not indefinitely.”

"We want someone knowledgeable and sensible goes into the law clause by clause and tell us what’s wrong."

6. The four members of the committee are Pramod Kumar Joshi of International Food Policy Research Institute, agriculture economist Ashok Gulati, Bhupinder Singh Mann of Bhartiya Kisan Union and Anil Ghanwat of Shetkeri Sangathan.

7. However, the leaders of farmers' unions have claimed the members of the court-appointed committee tasked to listen to their grievances are "pro-government".

All four members of the committee have publicly aired their support of the three farm laws.

8. As a result, protesting farmers' unions have asserted that they will not appear before the SC-appointed committee and added that Parliament should discuss and resolve this issue. The farmer leaders also claimed that the Supreme Court can repeal the farm laws suo motu (on its own).

"The members of the SC-appointed committee are not dependable as they have been writing on how farm laws are pro-farmer. We will continue our agitation," Balbeer Singh Rajewal said.

"We are against the committee in principle. It is the government's way to distract attention from the protest," Rajwal added.

9. However, Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary sought to allay their apprehensions, saying the panel was “impartial” and it will take the opinion of all farmers and experts across the country.

Choudhary said in an interview the stay order is against the Centre’s wish but the court direction is 'sarva-manya' (acceptable to all).

10. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday also issued notice to farmer associations on the Delhi Police application seeking to stop the proposed tractor rally on Republic Day by farmers protesting against the new farm laws.

Attorney General KK Venugopal said if farmers are allowed to enter, then no one can say, where they will go. To this, the CJI replied: "The police are with you (government)... Entry to the city will be a decision of the police."

Additionally, the court also asked the Centre to file an affidavit on its claim that some banned organisations including ‘Khalistanis’ have infiltrated the ongoing farmers protest.

Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, are protesting at Delhi borders since November 28 last, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee to the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system for their crops.

The Centre and the farmer unions held eight rounds of talks without any breakthrough. During the eighth round on January 7, the Centre firmly ruled out repealing the contentious laws while the farmer leaders said they are ready to fight till death and their "ghar waapsi will happen only after law waapsi".

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