Supreme Court Orders Partial Opening Of Shambhu Border, To Form Panel To Resolve Issues Of Protesting Farmers

The Supreme Court directed on Monday (12 August) that the road at the Shambhu border be partially reopened to allow ambulances, essential services, and local traffic to pass through.

Additionally, the court instructed the DGPs of Punjab and Haryana, along with the SPs from neighboring districts, to convene within a week to discuss the partial reopening of the road at Shambhu border.

The apex court also indicated that it would issue a brief order outlining the formation of a panel to engage with the farmers protesting at the Shambhu border.

Praising the Punjab and Haryana governments for proposing neutral members for the panel, Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan urged the Punjab government to convince the protesting farmers at the Shambhu border to clear tractors from the roadway.

Remarking that "Highways are not parking spaces," the bench added, "We will pass a brief order on the terms of the panel to be constituted for talking to protesting farmers at the Shambhu border."

Last month, the Supreme Court asked the Punjab and Haryana governments to maintain the status quo on the Shambhu border and form an independent committee to reach out to protesting farmers.

The matter reached the apex court when the Haryana government challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court order that asked it to remove barricades at the Shambhu border citing inconvenience to the general public.

The border has been closed since 13 February when farmers began marching towards Delhi to seek fulfillment of their demands of a legal guarantee for purchasing crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a farm loan waiver.