Dairy farmers can spill milk on road in protest: HC

Dairy farmers who are upset over not getting a fair price for milk are entitled to spill it on the streets if they so desire, in order to convey their agony to the public and draw the attention of the government to their plight, the Bombay High Court has said.

In a democracy, it is the fundamental right of every citizen to feel free to register their protest over any issue. Further, it is not possible to limit the manner in which they choose to express protest. So, if dairy farmers spill milk on the roads to protest not receiving a fair price for their produce, they have every right to do so, the high court has ruled.

A letter was written to the court on August 23, 2018, complaining about the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana spilling milk on the roads during a farmers' protest. The court took cognisance of the letter as a suo motu petition. At a recent hearing of the plea, a bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Nitin Jamdar

ruled, it was the right of dairy farmers to express their protest by pouring milk on the roads if they so desired. The letter written to the court said, during the agitation, the sight of entire tankers of milk being emptied on roads would have caused any one to be deeply aggrieved. Instead of wasting the milk thus, it could have been sold in the market and the public would have benefited, the letter stated.

If hapless dairy farmers wanted to convey their agony to the public and the government for not getting a fair price for milk in this manner, they were well within their rights to do so, the court observed. They had not destroyed others' goods or belongings but their own and trying to object to the manner of their protest would be a violation of their fundamental right. But while expressing protest, the agitators should also bear in mind, they were destroying consumable goods, observed the court.