‘How can state block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic’: SC asks Haryana on Shambhu border protest

PTC Web Desk: The Supreme Court has posed tough questions to the Haryana Government following a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive to reopen the Shambhu border crossing, which has been closed since February to prevent farmers protesting against the Central Government’s agricultural policies from advancing towards Delhi.

“How can the state block a highway? It has a duty to regulate traffic… we are saying ‘keep the border open, but also control it,” the Supreme Court remarked on Friday during oral observations.

In a pointed, but light-hearted exchange, the two-Judge Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan asked the state’s lawyer if he travelled by road, particularly the highway in question. “I think you travel by road…” Justice Kant queried, and the lawyer confirmed. “So you (too) must be facing trouble…” the Judge replied.

The state had appealed a section of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order, which also called for a judicial inquiry into the death of 22-year-old farmer Shubhkaran Singh. He was allegedly shot dead during the confrontation. The barricades, which created a war zone-like atmosphere, halted not only the farmers, but also all traffic on the highway, a crucial route into the national capital.

On Wednesday, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the highway to be reopened within a week “on an experimental basis,” noting that the number of farmers camped at the site had dwindled to a few hundred. “Both states shall endeavour to ensure the highway at Shambhu border is restored…” the court stated.

The states were also instructed to take “effective steps to enforce law and order” at Shambhu and along the highway, “… if protesters do not remain within limits set down by the state.”

Facing the High Court’s order, the Haryana Government moved the Supreme Court and was promptly asked, “Why does the state want to challenge the order?”

The Supreme Court reminded the ruling BJP that “farmers are citizens” and suggested that the authorities, in future mass protests, should show a measure of consideration. “Give them food and good medical facilities. They will come, raise slogans, and go back…”