SC to hear police plea against parade today

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will take up on Monday an application by Delhi Police seeking an injunction against farmers’ unions causing any disruption to the Republic Day celebrations in the Capital.

Delhi Police had informed the court that according to news reports, the farm unions were planning to hold a Tractor Rally coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations in the Capital. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde had issued notice on the plea on January 12 and sought a response of the farmer unions appearing before the court.

On Saturday, one of the protesting farm unions, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Lokshakti had filed its response to the application and raised a demand for removing the three members of the committee constituted by the court. The four-member panel was tasked with hearing the concerns of protesting farm unions and the Centre and submit report in eight weeks.

The members were Bhupinder

Singh Mann (National President, BKU, and All India Kisan Coordination Committee, Pramod Kumar Joshi (agricultural economist, Director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute), Ashok Gulati, agricultural economist and former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, and Anil Ghanwat, president, Shetkari Sanghatana.

Two days later, Mann refused to join the committee in solidarity with the farmers’ protests. The response by Bku-lokshakti referred to news clippings where the remaining three members had supported the farm laws and said the protesting farmers were being misled by political parties.

The union requested the court to “remove all three members” and appoint independent, impartial persons such as former SC judge and include the president of Bku-lokshakti among other farmers’ organization leaders participating in the protests. A bench of CJI SA Bobde, and justices L Nageswara Rao and Vineet Saran is expected to consider this affidavit as well on Monday.