New Delhi, 12 July

The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Haryana government to clear the barricading at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been camping since 13 February, and questioned its authority to block the highway.

The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February 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.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observation after the Haryana government counsel said the state is in the process of filing an appeal against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's 10 July order which had directed it to open 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 7 March 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 1 April, 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 21 February.

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 10 July, 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.