For over three weeks now, thousands of farmers have converged in and around Delhi, registering their anger with three Farm Acts that were passed by the Centre recently. The farmers want the contentious laws repealed, and have thus far rejected the Central government's suggestions for amendments. With six rounds of talks having failed, it is unclear when the protests will cease.
However, as the call for the laws to be repeals continues, the Supreme Court has also weighed in on the issue. A bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde touched upon the possibility of potting the contentious legislation on hold. News agency ANI quoted the judges to report that the SC had asked the Centre to explore the possibility of putting legislations on hold.
The Supreme Court asked the Attorney General whether the government could assure the Court that it will not take any executive action on implementation of the law till the court hears the matter.
Speaking about the issue on Thursday, the Supreme Court stated that while people had the fundamental right to protest, the manner in which this was exercised needed to be looked into. "Farmers have right to protest. We won't interfere with it but the manner of protest is something we will look into," Chief Justice Bobde said.
Batting for the formation of a committee with all involved parties and the government, the CJI said that this would help the protesters plead their case. "We are also Indian, we're familiar with the plight of farmers and are sympathetic to their cause. You (farmers) have to only alter the way the protest is going," he added.
