'Farmers Are Also Citizens': SC Raps Haryana Govt For Closing Shambhu Border, Directs To Open It And Regulate

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Haryana government to open the Shambhu border near Ambala after they barricaded the Ambala-New Delhi national highway to prevent the protesting farmers from entering Delhi and the court also questioned the authority of the state government for blocking a highway.

The farmers have been camping on the border since February 13 after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced that farmers would march to Delhi in support of various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.

Supreme Court Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said so after the Haryana government's lawyer mentioned that the state is preparing to appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's July 10 order which had instructed the state to reopen the highway within seven days.

"How can a State block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate," Justice Bhuyan said after the counsel informed the bench about filing of the appeal in the apex court.

Justice Kant told the state's counsel, "Why do you want to challenge the high court's order? Farmers are also citizens of this country. Give them food and good medical care. They will come, raise slogans and go back. I think you don't commute by road."

The counsel replied that he travels by road.

The bench said that then he too must be experiencing difficulties. It also asked the state to file an affidavit on the subsequent developments in the pending matter.

The top court was hearing a plea of the Haryana government challenging a March 7 Punjab and Haryana High Court decision to set up a committee headed by a former high court judge to probe farmer Shubhkaran Singh's death during a clash between the protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel in February.

On April 1, the apex court had refused to stay the high court's order.

Singh, 21, a native of Bathinda, was killed and several police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21.

The incident occurred when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards barricades erected at the border and were stopped by the security personnel from marching to Delhi.

On July 10, the high court ordered the Haryana government to clear within a week the barricading at the Shambhu border.

The court had also said if any law and order situation arises, then the state government could take preventive action according to law.

It had issued a similar direction to the Punjab government for maintaining law and order while stating that any barricading on its side should also be removed.