Farmers Protesting at Punjab-Haryana Border Consent to Discuss with Court-Appointed Committee: Punjab Government Informs Supreme Court

New Delhi, Jan 6 (NationPress) The Punjab government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the farmers who have been protesting at the Punjab-Haryana border have agreed to engage in discussions with the panel appointed by the court.

During the proceedings, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Punjab government, informed a bench led by Justice Surya Kant that a meeting has been scheduled for 3 p.m. today, where a potential breakthrough may occur.

The bench subsequently postponed the hearing related to a contempt petition aimed at the Chief Secretary of Punjab concerning the failure to hospitalize farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is currently on a hunger strike.

The 70-year-old cancer patient has been fasting at Khanauri, the border point between Punjab and Haryana, since November 26 in support of their long-standing demands, which include a legal assurance for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, a loan waiver, and reforms to enhance conditions in the agricultural sector.

Last September, the Supreme Court mandated the establishment of a committee to amicably address the farmers' grievances at the Punjab-Haryana border. The court suggested that the panel, led by Justice Nawab Singh, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, should negotiate with the protesting farmers to facilitate the removal of their tractors and trolleys from the National Highway to ease public access.

Additionally, the apex court granted farmers the freedom to relocate their peaceful protests to a different site.

The committee, apart from Justice Nawab Singh, also includes former Haryana DGP B.S. Sandhu, agricultural analyst Devender Sharma, Professor Ranjit Singh Ghuman, agricultural economist Dr. Sukhpal Singh, and Prof Baldev Raj Kamboj as a special invitee.

In prior hearings, the Supreme Court clarified that it had never instructed the cessation of Dallewal's hunger strike but was primarily concerned with his health.

"There seems to be a systematic attempt in the media where state government officials (of Punjab) are trying to convey that the court is pressuring Mr. Dallewal to end his fast. Our directive was not to end his fast; we merely emphasized that his health should be monitored and he can continue his peaceful protest even while hospitalized," the court expressed to Punjab’s Advocate General Gurminder Singh.

The Justice Kant-led Bench emphasized that transferring Dallewal to the hospital should not imply the end of his fast, but rather that medical care should be provided to prevent any harm to his life.

It also warned that if the Punjab government continues to neglect its duty to facilitate Dallewal's hospitalization, the apex court would seek intervention from the Centre.

"The state of Punjab bears complete responsibility for ensuring Mr. Jagjit Singh Dallewal's stable health condition; if hospitalization is necessary, authorities must ensure it happens. Therefore, the state government will decide whether Mr. Dallewal should be moved to the temporary hospital (which is reportedly located 700 meters from the site) or to a more equipped facility," the Supreme Court mandated on December 20.