Farmer’s Protest: Supreme Court to hear petitions related to tractor rally violence today

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear a bunch of pleas related to tractor rally violence that rocked the national capital on Republic Day, including the one which has sought setting up of a commission headed by a retired apex court judge to inquire into the incident. Notably, the pleas would be taken up for hearing by a bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian.

On January 26, the tractor rally which was primarily meant to highlight the demands of farmer unions to repeal three new farm laws turned into anarchy on the streets of the national capital as thousands of protesters broke through barriers, fought with the police, overturned vehicles and hoisted a religious flag from the ramparts of the iconic Red Fort.

One of the pleas filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari has sought setting up of a three-member inquiry commission under the chairmanship of a former apex court judge and comprising of two retired high court judges for collecting and recording evidence and submit a report on the January 26 violence to the top court in a time bound manner.

He has also sought direction to the concerned authority to lodge FIRs against individuals or organisations responsible for the violence and causing dishonour of the National Flag on January 26.

Another petition has been filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma who has sought a direction to the concerned authority as well as the media not to declare farmers as “terrorist” without any evidence.

Sharma has claimed in his plea that there was a “planned conspiracy” to sabotage the protest by farmers’ and they were allegedly declared as “terrorist” without any evidence.

He has sought directions to prohibit propagation of “false allegations and actions declaring” farmers as terrorist without any evidence.

Besides the petitions filed by Tiwari and Sharma, the court would also hear some other pleas related to the incident.

In his petition, Tiwari has said that farmers’ protest against the three new agri laws is going on for over two months but it took a “violent turn” during the tractor parade. It said that clash between the farmers and police on the Republic Day has caught the attention of the entire world.

The plea said there may be some conspiracy by some “notorious forces or organizations” to cause disturbance and damage the peaceful protest and create clash between police and protesting farmers.

On January 20, the Centre had withdrawn its application, filed through Delhi Police, seeking an injunction against the proposed tractor march on January 26 after the apex court had said that issue of tractor rally by farmers protesting against the new farms laws was in “executive domain”.

The top court had on January 12 said it would hear the pleas against the farm laws after eight weeks when the committee would give its suggestions to resolve the impasse after talking to the protesters and the government.

Thousands of farmers, mainly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, are protesting at various border points of Delhi for over a month now against the three laws — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act.