Supreme Court declines contempt of court plea against the Punjab Govt for removing protesting farmers

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N K Singh said the court has been prodding the state government to open the highway. “The contempt petition is misconceived,” Justice Kant told the petitioner, who then withdrew the petition.

Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh, meanwhile, informed the bench the state had cleared the protesters and opened the National Highway which was blocked for several months for vehicle traffic.

Singh also said that Jagjiit Singh Dallewal, one of the leaders of the protest who had been on an indefinite hunger strike since November 26 last year, ended his fast Friday. “Mr Dallewal accepted water today and broke fast,” Singh submitted.

Following this, the top court also dropped the contempt for court proceedings it had initiated earlier against the Punjab chief secretary and the director general of police for not taking steps to hospitalise Dallewal.

The issue had come up before the Bench, while it was considering an appeal by the Haryana government challenging the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking the state government to lift the blockade imposed at the border between Haryana and Punjab in view of the farmers’ agitation.