Supreme Court Suspended The Implementation Of The New Agricultural Reform Laws

 

 

 

On Tuesday, India’s top court has temporarily put on hold the implementation of agricultural reform laws and has ordered the creation of an independent committee of experts to negotiate with the farmers who gave been pretesting against the legislation.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came out a day after it reportedly heard petitions filed by the farmers who have been challenging the legislation. It also stated that the laws were passed without enough consultation and that it was disappointed with the way the talks were proceeding between the representatives of the government and the farmers.

Tens of thousands of farmers who have been protesting against the legislation have been blocking half a dozen major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi for more than 45 days. The farmers have said that they won’t leave until the government repeals the laws.

Furthermore, they have stated that the legislation passed by the Parliament in September shall lead to the cartelization and commercialization of agriculture that would make the farmers vulnerable to corporate greed and devastate their earnings.

The government has however insisted that the laws will benefit farmers and shall enable them to market their produce, and also boost their production through private investment.

Chief Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde has stated that the independent committee of four experts would amicably resolve the standoff between the farmers and the government. The court has however not provided the details as to how it would select the committee experts.

The farmer unions have rejected the idea of an expert committee and have said that all the four members have publicly favored the contentious legislation. They have reiterated their demand for the total repeal of the laws.

Additionally, a key union has said that the court’s decision to suspend the implementation of the legislation was welcomed but it was not a solution.

All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee has said that the government must withdraw. It must understand that the farmers and the people of India are opposed to the laws.

On Monday during a virtual meeting, Bobde has said that the impasse was causing distress to the farmers and that the situation at the protest sites was only getting worse.

Bobde further told India’s attorney general; K.K. Venugopal who was arguing for the government said that each one of them shall be held responsible if anything goes wrong.

Both sides have failed to make progress in multiple rounds of talks over the farmers’ main demand that the laws shall be scrapped. The government has further ruled out withdrawing the laws. Both the sides are due to meet yet again on Friday.

It was on December 30 when they had reached a consensus on two issues that the government would continue its subsidy of electricity for irrigating farms and that the farmers would not be punished for burning the crop residues, which leads to air pollution.