SC suspends implementation of agri laws, sets up panel

SC suspends implementation of agri laws, sets up panel

Protesting Farmers Boycott Hearing; Some Others Support Laws

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:13.01.2021

Undeterred by the boycott of proceedings by protesting farmers’ unions, the Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended implementation of three contentious farm laws and set up a fourmember expert committee to examine the laws threadbare for determining which all provisions passed muster on the count of farmers’ welfare and give a report to the court in two months.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said, “We are suspending the implementation of the three farm laws - Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act.”

It announced setting up of a four-member expert committee to hear all stakeholders including the government and determine “which provisions of the three farm laws required deletion” in the interest of farmers.

The committee comprises agricultural economist Pramod Kumar Joshi (Director of South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute), Anil Ghanwat (head of farmers’ outfit Shetkari Sangathan), another agricultural economist Ashok Gulati (who served as Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) and Bhupinder Singh Mann, who heads Bhartiya Kisan Union and is chairman of an umbrella body, All India Kisan Coordination Committee (AIKCC).

The bench also ordered that “the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system in existence before the enactment of the farm laws shall be maintained until further orders. In addition, the farmers’ land holdings shall be protected, i.e., no farmer shall be dispossessed or deprived of his title as a result of any action taken under the farm laws”.

“This committee shall be provided a place as well as secretarial assistance at Delhi by the government. All expenses for the committee to hold sittings at Delhi or anywhere else shall be borne by the central government. The representatives of all the farmers’ bodies, whether they are holding a protest or not and whether they support or oppose the laws shall participate in the deliberations of the committee and put forth their view points. The committee shall, upon hearing the government as well as the representatives of the farmers’ bodies, and other stakeholders, submit a report before this court containing its recommendations. This shall be done within two months from the date of its first sitting,” the bench said.

The SC asked the committee to hold its first sitting before January 22 and expressed the hope that the agitating farmers would end their protests and go back to attend to their livelihood while awaiting the outcome of the committee report and the court’s decision.

“While we may not stifle a peaceful protest, we think that this extraordinary order of stay of implementation of the farm laws will be perceived as an achievement of the purpose of such protest at least for the present and will encourage the farmers’ bodies to convince their members to get back to their livelihood, both in order to protect their own lives and health and in order to protect the lives and properties of others,” the CJI-led bench said.

When some counsel said the composition of the committee should be acceptable to all, the CJI said, “We are not catering to everyone’s idea of what is a good committee. We will decide the composition of the committee to help us decide the issue.” “Before the committee, do not present arguments on legislative competence of Parliament to enact the laws. The committee will tell us about the ground reality and what the farmers want. We will decide the validity of the laws,” the bench said.

The protesting farmer unions counsel Dushyant Dave, Prashant Bhushan, Colin Gonsalves and H S Phoolka had on Monday welcomed the court’s proposal to stay implementation of the farm laws but sought time till Tuesday to report back to the court with their client’s instructions on two issues - their willingness to appear before the court-appointed committee and on their plan to hold a tractor rally on the Republic Day.

On Tuesday, however, all four did a vanishing act much to the chagrin of the SC. In their absence, it was chronic PIL litigant-cum-advocate M L Sharma who informed the bench that the farmers have refused to appear before the committee.

While appearing to be riled by the discourtesy shown by the senior advocates who did not think it fit even to convey the farmers’ decision to the court, the CJI-led bench said the absence of the quartet would not deter the court from setting up the panel it had proposed on Monday. “No power can stop us from forming the committee. All farmers who want to solve the problem arising from the farm laws would appear before the committee and express their grievances.” “When we suspend the implementation of a legislation, it cannot be an empty suspension,” the bench said.