Chandigarh, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday ordered the Haryana government to open within a week on an "experimental" basis the barricade at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since 13 February.
The court also directed Punjab to ensure that protesters gathering on its territory are also "duly controlled whenever the situation so requires."
The farmers have called a meeting on July 16 to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, farmer Shubhkaran Singh, who was killed at the Khanauri border on February 21, was hit by a shotgun bullet, said additional attorney general of Haryana, Deepak Sabherwal, citing a report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).
The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu border since February 13, when their 'Delhi Chalo' march was stopped.
The Haryana government had erected barricades including cement blocks on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February, when Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) announced their plan to move towards Delhi in support of various demands , including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The apex court's directions came out of a series of petitions filed on issues related to farmers and anti-lockdown, including the one filed by lawyer Uday Pratap Singh, based in Haryana.
The apex court also ordered Punjab to remove any obstruction on the road to ensure free flow of traffic: "Both states will endeavor to ensure that the road at Shambhu border is restored to its original glory and is open to all and that the law and order are maintained for the convenience of the public."
Observing that the highway is the lifeline of the state of Punjab, the court said that the blockade due to preventive measures by Haryana is causing a lot of inconvenience. "Therefore, there is no free movement even for transport vehicles or buses and the bypass can only be used by people using private transport and therefore the general public suffers great inconvenience," the division bench of Justices G S Sandhawalia said. and Vikas Bahl in the order.
"As noted, the number of protesters has now reduced to only 400-500 as admitted by the states, as in the previous orders we had not ordered opening of the roads since the situation at that time due to the gathering at the Shambhu border of 13,000 people.
"We have also been informed that a similar entry point for the state of Punjab in Haryana and the barricade at Khanauri border in Sangrur district remain blocked. Therefore, it is evident that the lifelines of the state of Punjab "They are blocked by mere apprehension and the case has been reduced," the court said. In such circumstances, we consider that it would be in the interest of the general public that the state of Haryana does not continue to block the roads in future, it said.
The court said, "Accordingly, on an experimental basis, we direct the state of Haryana that at least the barricade at the Shambhu border be opened within a week so that the general public is not inconvenienced."
The court also said that the state of Haryana has the opportunity to take effective measures to enforce law and order against the protesters if they do not stay within the limits set by the state. The high court also ordered the farmer groups who participated in the agitation to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Sabherwal said that as per the CFSL report submitted in court on Wednesday, Shubhkaran was hit by a shotgun bullet.
The high court observed that no police or paramilitary force ever uses the shotgun, Sabherwal said He further said that Jhajjar police commissioner Satish Balan has been appointed as SIT chief to investigate the Shubhkaran case.
According to the court order, "the (CFSL) report would demonstrate that the pellets in question were fired from a shotgun and correspond to size '1' shotgun shell pellets. The piece of skin and the strands of hair below reference have been chemically examined to detect the presence of burning discharge residues, which were duly detected."
The SKM (Non-Political) and KMM are leading the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march to pressurize the government to accept their demands, which include that the Center must give a legal guarantee for MSP for crops.Shubhkaran, originally of Bathinda, was killed and many policemen injured in clashes at the Khanauri border point on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.
Meanwhile, reacting to the court directive, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they had called a meeting of both forums, SKM (Non-Political) and KMM, on July 16 to discuss the issue.
"We had made it clear earlier that we had not blocked the road and that the barricades had been done by the Center and the Haryana government," he said. In a statement, Pandher also said, "The farmers never intended to block the road. “If the government opens the expressway, farmers will not create any hindrance in traffic movement.”
The court also directed Punjab to ensure that protesters gathering on its territory are also "duly controlled whenever the situation so requires."
The farmers have called a meeting on July 16 to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, farmer Shubhkaran Singh, who was killed at the Khanauri border on February 21, was hit by a shotgun bullet, said additional attorney general of Haryana, Deepak Sabherwal, citing a report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).
The farmers have been camping at the Shambhu border since February 13, when their 'Delhi Chalo' march was stopped.
The Haryana government had erected barricades including cement blocks on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February, when Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) announced their plan to move towards Delhi in support of various demands , including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops. The apex court's directions came out of a series of petitions filed on issues related to farmers and anti-lockdown, including the one filed by lawyer Uday Pratap Singh, based in Haryana.
The apex court also ordered Punjab to remove any obstruction on the road to ensure free flow of traffic: "Both states will endeavor to ensure that the road at Shambhu border is restored to its original glory and is open to all and that the law and order are maintained for the convenience of the public."
Observing that the highway is the lifeline of the state of Punjab, the court said that the blockade due to preventive measures by Haryana is causing a lot of inconvenience. "Therefore, there is no free movement even for transport vehicles or buses and the bypass can only be used by people using private transport and therefore the general public suffers great inconvenience," the division bench of Justices G S Sandhawalia said. and Vikas Bahl in the order.
"As noted, the number of protesters has now reduced to only 400-500 as admitted by the states, as in the previous orders we had not ordered opening of the roads since the situation at that time due to the gathering at the Shambhu border of 13,000 people.
"We have also been informed that a similar entry point for the state of Punjab in Haryana and the barricade at Khanauri border in Sangrur district remain blocked. Therefore, it is evident that the lifelines of the state of Punjab "They are blocked by mere apprehension and the case has been reduced," the court said. In such circumstances, we consider that it would be in the interest of the general public that the state of Haryana does not continue to block the roads in future, it said.
The court said, "Accordingly, on an experimental basis, we direct the state of Haryana that at least the barricade at the Shambhu border be opened within a week so that the general public is not inconvenienced."
The court also said that the state of Haryana has the opportunity to take effective measures to enforce law and order against the protesters if they do not stay within the limits set by the state. The high court also ordered the farmer groups who participated in the agitation to maintain law and order.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters earlier in the day, Sabherwal said that as per the CFSL report submitted in court on Wednesday, Shubhkaran was hit by a shotgun bullet.
The high court observed that no police or paramilitary force ever uses the shotgun, Sabherwal said He further said that Jhajjar police commissioner Satish Balan has been appointed as SIT chief to investigate the Shubhkaran case.
According to the court order, "the (CFSL) report would demonstrate that the pellets in question were fired from a shotgun and correspond to size '1' shotgun shell pellets. The piece of skin and the strands of hair below reference have been chemically examined to detect the presence of burning discharge residues, which were duly detected."
The SKM (Non-Political) and KMM are leading the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march to pressurize the government to accept their demands, which include that the Center must give a legal guarantee for MSP for crops.Shubhkaran, originally of Bathinda, was killed and many policemen injured in clashes at the Khanauri border point on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.
Meanwhile, reacting to the court directive, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said that they had called a meeting of both forums, SKM (Non-Political) and KMM, on July 16 to discuss the issue.
"We had made it clear earlier that we had not blocked the road and that the barricades had been done by the Center and the Haryana government," he said. In a statement, Pandher also said, "The farmers never intended to block the road. “If the government opens the expressway, farmers will not create any hindrance in traffic movement.”
