• The Supreme Court on January 12 stayed the implementation of controversial new farm laws till further orders and constituted a four-member committee to resolve the impasse  between the Centre and farmers’ unions protesting at Delhi borders.

The Supreme Court stayed the implementation following laws until further orders:

1) Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020.

2) Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020.

3) Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

• The SC bench headed by Chief Justice S.A.Bobde passed the interim order on a batch of petitions challenging constitutional validity of these farm laws and also raising the issue of farmers protesting at Delhi borders.

Background

• Thousands of farmers, mostly from Haryana and Punjab, have been protesting at several border points of Delhi since November last year, demanding a repeal of the three laws and a legal guarantee to the minimum support price (MSP) system for their crops.

• Enacted in September last year, the three laws have been projected by the Centre as major reforms in the agriculture sector that will remove middlemen and allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere in the country.

• However, the protesting farmers have expressed their apprehension that the new laws would pave the way for eliminating the safety cushion of the MSP and do away with the ‘mandi’ (wholesale market) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporates.

SC appoints four-member committee

• The top court set up a four-member committee to resolve the impasse between the central government and the farmers' unions.

The four members of the committee are:

1) Bhupinder Singh Mann, president of Bhartiya Kisan Union.

2) Anil Ghanwat, president of Shetkari Sanghatana, Maharashtra.

3) Pramod Kumar Joshi, director for South Asia, International Food Policy Research Institute.

4) Ashok Gulati, agriculture economist.

• The court-appointed committee shall hear the government as well as the representatives of farmers’ bodies and other stakeholders and submit a report before the apex court containing its recommendations within two months from the date of its first sitting at Delhi.

Why are the protesters unhappy over the panel?

• Leaders of the protests said they welcome the Supreme Court order staying the implementation of the three farm laws till further orders, but they will continue to protest till the contentious legislations are repealed and expressed doubts over the neutrality of the panel formed by the top court to end the impasse.

• The agitating farmers also made it clear that they will not participate in the SC-ordered committee process.

Can SC stay Parliamentary legislations?

• Legal experts said that Parliamentary legislations cannot be stayed by the Supreme Court unless it is satisfied prima facie that they are unconstitutional and illegal.

• Attorney General K.K. Venugopal had earlier opposed the apex court observation on stay of implementation of controversial farm laws. Venugopal said such an order can only be passed when there was prima facie materials to show that they violated fundamental rights of citizens or constitutional schemes and have been farmed without the legislative competence of Parliament.

• Chief Justice S.A.Bobde replied that “staying the implementation of laws and staying the law are different. We can always stay executive action under a law”. 

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