Protest Peacefully, Don't Cause Inconvenience To Public: Supreme Court While Closing Habeas Petition Against Custody Of Farmers' Leader

The Supreme Court yesterday disposed of a habeas corpus petition alleging illegal custody of farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal by Punjab police, noting that he has been released and joined the farmers' protest.

As per allegations, Dallewal was to begin a fast-unto-death on November 26 in support of farmers' demands. But he was forcibly removed from the protest site on Khanuari border and taken to a hospital in Ludhiana (from where he was released later).

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order. Without commenting on whether the farmers' protests are right or wrong, the bench orally expressed, "In a democratic setup, you can engage in peaceful protests but do not cause inconvenience to people...the Khanauri border is a lifeline for Punjab".

It was also noted that the issues raised are pending before the Court in another matter.

Briefly stated, farmers are protesting at the Shambhu and Khanauri borders between Punjab and Haryana since February this year. These protests are an offshoot of the 2020 protests against the government's three farm laws that relaxed rules relating to the purchase, sale, and storage of farm produce.

Although the union government scrapped these rules in November 2021, after months of protest, farmers now claim that the Centre has not fulfilled other promises made to them, including the implementation of a minimum support price for all crops.

Case Title: JAGJIT SINGH DALLEWAL THR: GUNINDER KAUR GILL NEXT FRIEND OF JAGJIT SINGH DALLEWAL Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(Crl.) No. 491/2024