The Haryana government has approached the Supreme Court to challenge a high court order directing the removal of barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala, where farmers have been protesting since February 13, 2024.
The state’s appeal, filed through advocate Akshay Amritanshu, cites concerns about the law-and-order situation as the reason for maintaining the blockade.
On July 12, while hearing a related matter, the Supreme Court instructed the Haryana government to dismantle the barricades and questioned its authority to block the highway.
The Haryana government had installed barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced plans for a farmers’ march to Delhi to support various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops.
“How can a state block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic. We are saying open it but regulate,” a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked on June 12 after the state’s counsel informed the bench of the intention to appeal to the apex court.
Justice Kant advised the state’s counsel, “Why do you want to challenge the high court’s order? Farmers are also citizens of this country. Provide them with food and medical care. They will come, raise slogans, and leave. I assume you don’t commute by road.” These comments were made while the Supreme Court was hearing a plea from the Haryana government challenging a March 7 decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to establish a committee led by a former high court judge to investigate the death of farmer Shubhkaran Singh during a clash between protesters and Haryana security personnel in February.
Singh, 21, from Bathinda, was killed, and several police personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. The clashes occurred when protesting farmers attempted to approach the barricades at the border and were stopped by security personnel.
In its order, the high court had also stated that if any law-and-order issues arise, the state government could take preventive measures according to the law. It issued a similar directive to the Punjab government to ensure law and order while also ordering the removal of barricades on its side of the border.
